ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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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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.”
2023 CONTE Virtual Meeting Plenary Session Speaker
Mike Sovinsky is currently the Deputy Chief of the Training Branch in the Flight Operations Directorate at NASA Johnson Space Center. His branch oversees the training to prepare astronauts on the missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and the Artemis missions heading back to the moon. They also conduct the high-fidelity simulations to perform the assessments for flight controller certifications to perform their duties in the Mission Control Center (MCC).
Additionally, Mike is the Chair of the International Training Control Board. This board contains members from the Russian, Japanese, European and Canadian Space Agencies that discusses and decides the overall strategic plan to achieve successful training of the astronauts and flight controllers as they train around the world.
Mike has a master and bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University. He has written a total of one journal article. He lives in League City, Texas with his wife Terra and two children, Ella and Tyler.
Last modified January 24, 2023, 10:36am EST
