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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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Will policies outlined in Project 2025 affect nuclear much?
James Conca
I think so. The near future for nuclear depends on both the cabinet picks for Energy, Defense, Interior, and Commerce, and how well the new secretaries stick to the Project 2025 plan, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative blueprint for the future.
Those who want to read the entire 900-page Mandate for Leadership can find it easily online. The section relating to nuclear power and waste begins on page 363: “Department of Energy and Related Commissions,” by Bernard L. McNamee. The nuclear weapons–related portions are scattered throughout.
It is obvious from the beginning of the chapter that McNamee doesn’t really understand the Department of Energy. He can be forgiven, since most people don’t. For the several months following their appointments, new energy secretaries generally fail to understand what the DOE does—except for real nuclear folks like Ernest Moniz, who held the position from 2013 to 2017. Most think that the DOE is all about energy, when really it is mostly about weapons and waste.
2020 ANS Virtual Winter Meeting Plenary Session Speaker
Dr. Peter B. Lyons retired from the Department of Energy on June 30, 2015. He now consults on several corporate and laboratory boards, as well as assisting several international groups. He was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy on April 14, 2011 after serving as Acting Assistant Secretary since November 2010. Dr. Lyons was appointed to his previous role as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy in September 2009. Before joining DOE, Dr. Lyons was appointed by President Bush as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, starting on January 25, 2005. He was subsequently nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. His NRC term ended on June 30, 2009.
Previously, Dr. Lyons served as Science Advisor to U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from 1997 to 2005. From 1969 to 2003, Dr. Lyons worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he served on assignment to Senator Domenici and as Director for Industrial Partnerships, Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Environment, Deputy Associate Director for Defense Research and Applications and Group Leader for Fast Plasma Diagnostics. While at Los Alamos, he spent over a decade supporting nuclear test and laser fusion diagnostics.
Dr. Lyons has presented more than 400 papers or talks on a wide range of technical and policy topics in addition to testifying before the U.S. Congress on many occasions. He holds four patents related to fiber optics and plasma diagnostics and served as chairman of the NATO Nuclear Effects Task Group for five years. He received his doctorate in nuclear astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 1969 and earned his undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1964. Dr. Lyons is a Fellow of both the American Nuclear Society and the American Physical Society; received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal from the American Nuclear Society, the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award from the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Alvin M. Weinberg Medal from the American Nuclear Society, the James Landis Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nuclear Infrastructure Council; and was elected to 16 years on the Los Alamos School Board.
Dr. Lyons grew up in Nevada and is now a resident of Golden, Colorado.
Last modified October 21, 2020, 10:52am EDT
