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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!
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.”
Keynotes Session
Tuesday, August 22, 2023|8:00–8:50AM EDT|Columbia 11/12
Session Chair:
Stephen Bajorek (USNRC)
Yasir Arafat is an accomplished nuclear engineer and a pioneer in microreactor technology who has made significant contributions to the development of advanced reactors. Mr. Arafat has 13 years of experience leading and executing nuclear research and development, primarily in advanced reactors, including designing and developing the Westinghouse AP1000®, Westinghouse SMR, fusion power plant, creating and leading eVinci & DeVinci microreactors at Westinghouse and DOE's MARVEL test microreactor at INL. As the Chief Designer and Project Lead of the MARVEL project, he has played a key role in the creation of the first advanced reactor to be built in the United States in 50 years.
Under his leadership, the MARVEL test microreactor became the first reactor to achieve NEPA compliance through an Environmental Assessment and successfully undergo procurement and construction phases. Yasir is also one of the national Technical Area Leads for the Department of Energy Microreactor Program and serves as the subject matter expert for microreactors at the Nuclear Science and Technology Directorate at Idaho National Laboratory. He is a technical advisor to the Fission Battery Initiative.
Yasir specializes in leading complex engineering projects, reactor design & licensing, model-based systems engineering, advanced manufacturing, thermodynamic process modeling/simulation, agile product development, and innovation strategy. He has developed a novel Agile hardware development process that enabled the rapid development of nuclear reactor systems. He is also skilled in the techno-economic evaluation and led a pioneering effort in collaboration with the automotive industry to generate a microreactor factory manufacturing cost curve based on manufacturing MARVEL's 3800+ parts.
He has been granted 11 patents and three provisional patents in reactor technology, with an additional four patent applications currently under review. Mr. Arafat's contributions to the field of nuclear energy have been critical to the development of advanced reactors and have cemented his reputation as a leading microreactor expert in the industry.
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