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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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
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April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
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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.”
Plenary Session
Friday, April 5, 2024|8:00–9:50AM EDT|Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub Room 603
Session Chair:
Jonathan Balog (Penn State University)
Session Organizer:
Speakers
Lisa MarshallANS Vice President 2023-2024
Sola TalabiSenior ConsultantPittsburgh Technical
Oscar PratSenior Director, AP1000® Construction Support Services Westinghouse Electric Company
It's no secret that building new nuclear power plants in the United States has been a challenging experience. After construction began over a decade ago for Vogtle Units 3 & 4, both units are now online and connected to the grid. Given the energy and resources being invested into reactors of all shapes and sizes, delays on this scale must be avoided as much as possible given the economic costs as well as clean energy goals that must be met. Insights from past and present nuclear plant construction efforts must be applied in a coherent and meaningful way to mitigate or prevent the issues seen previously. This plenary panel aims to dig up, and dig through, some of the historical context of cost/schedule overruns, new issues that were encountered with the AP1000® projects at Vogtle, and how community engagement has contributed to nuclear power project cancellations as well as premature closures. Together, these lessons learned will help inform future construction efforts across the United States, regardless of the reactor being built!
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Attachment — Opening Plenary Biographies
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