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
Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
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.”
Nuclear Criticality Safety Division 2025 Conference
Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory
Director
John J. McKetta Energy
Professor
Dr. William (Bill) Charlton is a Professor in the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program within the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). At UT-Austin, he also serves as the Director of the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL) which houses the newest research reactor in the U.S. Since 2023, he has served as the UT-Sandia Faculty Liaison. He is an expert in the application of nuclear science and engineering for societal solutions (including national security, health care, and the environment). He has over 25 years of technical expertise in the design, development, testing, and evaluation of nuclear systems, analytical techniques, and instrumentation. From 2015-2017, he was the Research Director for the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Nebraska. NSRI is the University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) for the U.S. Strategic Command and the U.S. Department of Defense for Combatting Weapons of Mass Destruction. From 2003-2015, Dr. Charlton served on the faculty of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and was the founding Director of the Nuclear Security Science & Policy Institute (NSSPI) from 2006-2015. He previously served as an Assistant Professor at UT-Austin from 2000-2003 and as a Technical Staff Member in the Nonproliferation and International Security Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) from 1998-2000. Dr. Charlton earned a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University. Among his many awards, Dr. Charlton earned the Special Service Award from the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management in 2010. He has over 200 technical publications in referred journals and conference proceedings.
Last modified January 6, 2025, 12:04pm CST
