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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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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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 and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS-2023) Plenary SPeaker
Brad Tomer is Acting Director and serves as the Chief Operating Officer at the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at the Idaho National Laboratory leading efforts to accelerate demonstration and deployment of advanced nuclear energy technology. Brad has extensive experience in moving technologies from research and development phase to commercial deployment in both the public and private sector.
Prior to NRIC, Brad served as Interim CEO and VP of Operations for Avitas Systems, a GE Venture offering robotic-based data collection techniques and cutting-edge analytics and artificial intelligence to drive predictive industrial insights and actions in the electric power and oil and gas industries. Brad is former Chief Engineer and General Manager of Advanced Technology for GE Oil and Gas where he was responsible for developing and implementing engineering processes and procedures and developing advanced technologies across the oil and gas value stream.
Prior to GE, Brad served as Chief Operating Officer at the National Energy Technology Laboratory implementing science and technology programs across the energy industry. While at NETL, Brad served as Director of the Office of Major Demonstrations overseeing a multi-billion-dollar investment in carbon capture, utilization, and storage from large point source emitters of carbon dioxide. In addition, Brad served as NETL’s Director for the Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil developing and implementing research and development programs in oil and gas exploration, production, infrastructure, and utilization.
Brad has an engineering Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, an MBA from George Mason University, and a Masters degree from West Virginia University.
Last modified April 11, 2023, 6:43am MDT
