ANS Winter Meeting, November 9-13: What's In It For You?

•  People  At ANS National meetings-at all ANS meetings, really, but especially at the two major national meetings each year-you'll get a chance to meet and speak with people from every corner of the industry, and from a number of eras as well. People you have perhaps only e-mailed, and people who rarely use e-mail-they will be there. This is a prime opportunity to meet folks you've always wanted to meet. "But, what will that get me?" you say.

•  Networking  There is no end to the networking opportunities that happen around these meetings-before sessions, at lunch, and all evening afterward. Industry groups, regulatory groups, universities... they're all present. Most folks find their schedules so packed with these meetups that by the time the actual meeting week arrives, there's precious little other time undesignated. The number of things that can happen as a result of these networks is practically unlimited. The inspired atmosphere of the meetings makes great things happen-I've seen it.

•  Learning  To pick a particular topic, I can honestly say that in discussions both in person and on the internet about the Fukushima Daiichi accident, I have been consistently better equipped than even some other nuclear advocates as a direct result of having attended the ANS Winter Meeting in San Diego a couple years back. Personnel from TEPCO, other Japanese utilities, national and world regulatory bodies, universities, and laboratories around the world convened for a three-day Fukushima Daiichi sub-topical that provided an incredible level of detail and examination of the accidents. The same experience could not be had anywhere unless one went to Japan. I have considered this, and other ANS meeting topicals, to be invaluable. Again, only one possible example of what can happen for you if you attend these meetings.

•  Working  You can certainly make the case that your employer might well find you to be a more valuable employee after you've attended one of these meetings. The opportunities to grow and learn as a person and as an employee, and thus bring the benefits of those increased skills back to your employer, are never greater than at an ANS meeting. The technical papers presented, and opportunities to find out about new methods, or new programs, are a fertile field for growth. For those looking for employment in a nuclear-related field-what better environment in which to find out what's hot, what's available, and make that best first impression?

I am sincerely hoping that folks who hadn't thought about attending will reconsider after having read what I have to say. I think that the ANS national meeting experience is invaluable. I've tried over these years to relate it to everyone I can, so that the opportunities made possible by this ANS membership benefit are seized by everyone who can attend.

Yes, there will be a number of presentations honoring those who have earned high awards from ANS. There will be plenaries, and perhaps a formal dinner or two. Those have a rightful place at such meetings and I personally enjoy all of them. But I must say that I find the advantages of the additional aspects I've described above to be the best reasons to attend; I hope you'll consider it.

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Will Davis is the Communications Director for the N/S Savannah Association, Inc. where he also serves as historian, newsletter editor and member of the board of directors. Davis has recently been engaged by the Global America Business Institute as a consultant.  He is also a consultant to, and writer for, the American Nuclear Society; an active ANS member, he is serving on the ANS Communications Committee 2013-2016. In addition, he is a contributing author for Fuel Cycle Week, and writes his own popular blog Atomic Power Review. Davis is a former US Navy reactor operator, qualified on S8G and S5W plants.