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
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
July 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
UWC 2022 speaker
As Westinghouse’s Vice President of Long-Term Operations (LTO), Sonya collaborates with utilities throughout the world to ensure safe, reliable, and profitable plant operability beyond the original design basis. She is responsible for integrating solutions, leveraging the collective creativity and insights of the owner’s group, and driving the use of digitalization to modernize operations.
Prior to her current role, Sonya served for nearly ten years in Westinghouse’s account management organization, in various leadership roles, eventually as Region Vice President, where she was intimately involved with fuel and component supply, challenging engineering scopes, instrumentation and controls upgrades, outage services and first-of-a-kind technology development and delivery.
Sonya’s Westinghouse career includes leadership positions in Corporate Strategy, partnership development, product management and contracting. During her tenure as Product Manager, Steam Generator Services, she commercialized seven new products.
In Westinghouse’s New Plant business, Sonya completed an intensive training program in Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing principles. Thereafter, she led diverse teams involved with the first AP1000 contract, before becoming the manager of continuous improvement.
Sonya built a strong foundation of serving the needs of plant operators, beginning twenty-five years ago, as a Board-Certified safety engineer. She supported routine outage services as well as large-scale field projects such as chemical cleaning, steam generator sleeving, split pin, reactor vessel head replacements and 10-year in-service inspections.
Sonya holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, is a Six Sigma Black Belt, and is a graduate of Duquesne University’s Executive Leadership and Harvard Business Review’s High Potential programs.
Last modified August 4, 2022, 7:17am EDT