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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
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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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.
UWC 2022 speaker
Dr. Jennifer Uhle is NEI’s vice president of Generation and Suppliers. Prior to joining NEI, Uhle served as the director of reactor safety programs at Jensen Hughes, a consulting company to the nuclear industry. Uhle joined Jensen Hughes in 2016, working in advanced reactors, thermal-hydraulics and regulatory affairs.
Previously, she served at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for 23 years in several positions including the director of the Office of New Reactors.
Uhle obtained her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1991 and 1996, respectively, with a specialization in reactor systems and design. She served as the U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s first fact-finding mission to Fukushima in 2011. She served on the advisory committee to MIT’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and the National Academy of Science Committee on a U.S. fusion pilot program.
Last modified June 22, 2022, 11:15am EDT
