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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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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Latest News
Empowering the next generation: ANS’s newest book focuses on careers in nuclear energy
A new career guide for the nuclear energy industry is now available: The Nuclear Empowered Workforce by Earnestine Johnson. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience across 16 nuclear facilities, Johnson offers a practical, insightful look into some of the many career paths available in commercial nuclear power. To mark the release, Johnson sat down with Nuclear News for a wide-ranging conversation about her career, her motivation for writing the book, and her advice for the next generation of nuclear professionals.
When Johnson began her career at engineering services company Stone & Webster, she entered a field still reeling from the effects of the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, nearly 15 years earlier. Her hiring cohort was the first group of new engineering graduates the company had brought on since TMI, a reflection of the industry-wide pause in nuclear construction. Her first long-term assignment—at the Millstone site in Waterford, Conn., helping resolve design issues stemming from TMI—marked the beginning of a long and varied career that spanned positions across the country.
2022 ANS Annual Meeting
Director
Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN)
Under her leadership, GAIN continues to serve the nuclear energy community by facilitating access to the world-class capabilities of the national laboratory system. Through public-private partnerships, GAIN helps move innovative nuclear energy technologies toward commercialization, while ensuring the continued safe, reliable, and economic operation of the existing nuclear fleet. In addition, GAIN works to ensure that clean energy plans value the opportunity nuclear energy provides to meet decarbonization and sustainability goals.
As director, Christine has facilitated and participated in numerous industry webinars and other speaking engagements on advanced nuclear energy. She has testified before state legislatures and is regularly invited to introduce advanced nuclear energy to utility commissioners, energy planners, and investors. She also works with energy stakeholders outside of nuclear to develop an approach to future scenario planning focused on energy transitions.
Prior to GAIN, she served as the operations director for a venture capital firm focused on bringing private investment into developing an advanced nuclear sector to help speed these technologies to market. Her knowledge and experience include leading a nuclear division for a consulting firm, working in long-term research and development with the Electric Power Research Institute, and performing regular maintenance on nuclear plants to ensure reliable operation of the steam generators.
She received her bachelor’s in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and her Master of Business Administration from Lynchburg College. Outside work, she is pursuing a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo and enjoys camping and hiking to disconnect from the digital world.
Last modified April 13, 2022, 8:24am PDT
