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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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February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
International Conference on Physics of Reactors 2022 Plenary SPeaker
Director of Technology Strategy
USNC
Dr. Cristian Rabiti joined USNC as Director of Technology Strategy. He is currently focused on developing the U.S. market and framing the Micro Modular Reactor technology in the context of the integrated energy systems. He is also engaged in modeling and simulation activities to support the licensing of Micro Modular Reactors.
Prior to joining USNC, Dr. Rabiti worked at Idaho National Laboratory where he led the development and application of tools for technoeconomic analysis of integrated energy systems. He explored how nuclear energy could be used to achieve a decarbonized and affordable U.S. energy system. Previously, he was involved in software tool development for nuclear reactor core simulations. Before joining Idaho National Laboratory, he served as a neutron transport software developer at Argonne National Laboratory.
Dr. Rabiti received a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Stuttgart in Germany, and an Executive MBA from IE Business School in Madrid.
Last modified April 8, 2022, 10:00am EDT
