ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Thursday, June 19, 2025|6:45AM–2:45PM CDT
Braidwood Clean Energy Center
Limited Capacity
Cost: $65
Braidwood Clean Energy Center's two nuclear reactors can produce up to 2,386 megawatts (MW) of clean, carbon-free energy, enough electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 1.8 million homes. The facility is built on a 4,457-acre site in Braceville, Illinois, and its cooling lake was formed from scarred farming land and an old strip mine.
For all visitors to the site
For those planning to tour the plant RCA
Braidwood Station will provide you with the proper personal protection equipment (hardhats, safety glasses and hearing protection. If you wear hearing aids, please let your escort know so that the appropriate hearing protection can be provided.
Why we need your Social Security or Passport Number
Before being granted access to a nuclear power plant, each prospective visitor’s Social Security or passport number is checked against a national database to ensure the individual has not been denied access at another nuclear site. This is done several days prior to the scheduled visit and again just prior to access authorization on the day of your visit.
We do not retain Social Security or passport numbers once these checks are performed. In addition, those entering the RCA are issued a dosimeter, which measures radiation exposure. While visitors receive very little, if any, radiation exposure during a general tour, your Social Security number is the unique identifier that is used to record the reading on your dosimeter following the tour.