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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
2023 ANS WINTER CONFERENCE AND EXPO
Steve Squyres is Chief Scientist for Blue Origin, a private space company building the foundation for millions of people living and working in space. His responsibilities extend into all areas where Blue Origin’s activities intersect with science.
Steve came to Blue Origin from Cornell University, where he was the James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences. For almost twenty years he was scientific Principal Investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Project, leading payload development and science operations for the rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
Steve received his Ph.D. from Cornell in 1981 and spent five years at NASA’s Ames Research Center before returning to Cornell as a faculty member. In addition to MER, he participated in the Voyager mission to Jupiter and Saturn, the Magellan mission to Venus, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission, the Cassini mission to Saturn, and the Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Science Laboratory missions.
Steve has chaired the NASA Advisory Council and the planetary decadal survey for the National Research Council. His awards include the COSPAR Space Science Award, the American Geophysical Union Fred Whipple Award, the Geological Society of America G.K. Gilbert Award, the Space Science Award of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Astronautical Society’s Carl Sagan Award, the National Space Society’s Wernher von Braun Award, the American Astronomical Society Harold C. Urey Prize, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Last modified November 6, 2023, 9:23am EST