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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Feb 2025
Jul 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
2025 topic
Secure digital control systems for advanced reactors / Advancement of enabling technologies for advanced reactors.
VIEW RECIPIENTSSUBMIT NOMINATION
Nomination Deadline
March 1
Presented at the
Annual Conference
Monetary Award*
$1,000
The Special Award recognizes an individual or group for outstanding achievements in a specific area of work. The Board of Directors selects a different topical area for the award each year on the recommendation of the Honors and Awards Committee.
2025 Special Award Description:
Instrumentation and Control (I&C) serves as the central nervous system of most industrial processes. Digital I&C will be crucial to operation and safety of new generation of nuclear reactors because it would facilitate autonomous operation and hands-off maintenance of plants augmented by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The current generation of nuclear power plants have benefitted from digital I&C for both safety and non-safety related services through gains in efficiency and versatility. This experience will help solidify the foundation for implementation of digital I&C systems in advanced reactors.
Nominees may be from any nation, but they must not be deceased at the time the awardee is selected. The nominee need not be an ANS member.
The award may be presented to one or more individuals at the ANS Annual Conference. It consists of a plaque, $1,000 monetary award*.
*In lieu of a cash award, recipients can opt for travel reimbursement up to the award amount.
The Special Award was established in 1962 and has been awarded each year when eligible candidates are nominated and selected. The topics for the awards have come from the many varied areas of nuclear science and engineering fostered by the Society.
The selection of the topics should continue to reflect the wide variety of subjects in which ANS members are prominent contributors. Future awards should be made in areas different from those in which previous Special Awards have been given. The award topic should be of timely interest to the Society and should reflect current Society affairs and activities. The topic should not be tailored to suit a particular individual or team who would undoubtedly receive that award.
With the extensive collaboration on many projects by groups of people ranging from two or three up to several, nominations of teams or small groups can be expected and are certainly appropriate for many areas that might be selected for the award. Possible restrictions of the nominees for the award to individuals or to small groups are left to the discretion of the Honors and Awards Committee.
The criteria for selection of an award topic for the ANS Special Award is left up to the judgment of the Honors and Awards Committee. The basic criteria for the selection of an awardee can generally be outlined as follows:
Nominations must include the completed nomination form accompanied by the following supporting documents:
View Award
