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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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Dec 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
What’s the most difficult question you’ve been asked as a maintenance instructor?
Blye Widmar
"Where are the prints?!"
This was the final question in an onslaught of verbal feedback, comments, and critiques I received from my students back in 2019. I had two years of instructor experience and was teaching a class that had been meticulously rehearsed in preparation for an accreditation visit. I knew the training material well and transferred that knowledge effectively enough for all the students to pass the class. As we wrapped up, I asked the students how they felt about my first big system-level class, and they did not hold back.
“Why was the exam from memory when we don’t work from memory in the plant?” “Why didn’t we refer to the vendor documents?” “Why didn’t we practice more on the mock-up?” And so on.
Nuclear Criticality Safety Division Topical Meeting (NCSD 2022)
Plenary and Panel Session
Monday, June 13, 2022|1:00–2:45PM PDT|Laguna A
The NCSD 2022 conference kicks off with an opening plenary designed to inspire and inform the past, current, and future generations of nuclear criticality safety professionals. Catherine Percher, the NCSD 2022 General Chair, will welcome everyone to the conference and provide an overview of what to expect during the week. The current ANS NCSD Chair, David Erickson, will provide an overview of the division, how it fits within the larger ANS, its focus on the ANS-8 series of standards, and the ways of getting involved. Angela Chambers, the Program Manager for the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) and the largest funder of NCS-related research in the US, will give an overview of the NCSP and the many products and services the program provides to the field of NCS. Julie-Fiona Martin, the secretariate for the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety, will describe international NCS collaboration efforts that are supported by the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Finally, the two winners of our speech contest will provide a prospective of working in the NCS field from two ends of the experience spectrum: Liam Payne, from Nuclear Waste Services in the UK, will share his experiences as a relative newcomer to NCS, and Larry Wetzel, from BWX Technologies, will share his experiences as a senior nuclear criticality safety engineer with many years of involvement in the field and the ANS NCSD.
The NCSD Opening Plenary will conclude with five Lightning Talks. The papers that accompany the Lighting Talks can be found in Monday's Technical Sessions program.
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