ANS News


ANS webinar looks to Utah’s nuclear future

July 14, 2026, 1:31PMANS News

On July 9, the American Nuclear Society hosted the third installment of its “Nuclear in the States” webinar series. This time, the webinar looked to the current landscape of Utah’s nuclear sector—from its policy developments to ongoing projects to workforce needs.

ANS CEO Craig Piercy, who led the discussion, was joined by Chris Hayter, cofounder of Hi Tech Solutions and founder of Fulcrum Point Energy; Emy Lesofski, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s energy advisor and director of the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED); and Jeff Richardson, president of D&D and chief projects officer at EnergySolutions.

ANS releases new course on nuclear economics

June 17, 2026, 7:16AMANS News

The American Nuclear Society has just announced its fourth professional development course: Foundations of Nuclear Economics, a practical introduction to the financial principles that shape the long-term value of nuclear power.

The first offering of the course will be held on August 24 in Dallas, Texas, in conjunction with this year’s Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX 2026), the nuclear industry conference hosted jointly by ANS and the Nuclear Energy Institute.

ANS approves formation of six student sections, one local section

June 11, 2026, 7:10AMANS News

Last week at the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference in Denver, Colo., the ANS Board of Directors approved the creation of six new ANS student sections and one new local section. Including these new additions, the Society now boasts 37 local sections and 70 student sections, which together represent ANS members across every region of the United States.

ANS awards new Presidential Citations

June 9, 2026, 10:55AMANS News

Twice per year, the American Nuclear Society confers Presidential Citations on individuals who have demonstrated outstanding efforts benefiting ANS or the broader nuclear community.

Last week at the opening plenary of the 2026 ANS Annual Conference in Denver, Colo., immediate past president of ANS Hash Hashemian named this season’s recipients of the award.

McCarthy announced as new editor of ANS fusion journal

June 4, 2026, 3:00PMANS News

The American Nuclear Society journal Fusion Science and Technology (FS&T) has named a new technical editor: Kathryn McCarthy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The announcement came during the opening plenary at this week’s ANS Annual Conference in Denver, Colo. McCarthy’s term begins on July 1.

Fuel and the nuclear resurgence: The chicken or the egg conundrum

June 4, 2026, 7:28AMANS News
From left, ANS CEO Craig Piercy moderates the second plenary of the Annual Conference, with panelists Seth Grae of Lightbridge, Jean-Luc Palayer of Orano USA, Sarah Riedel of Urenco, and Amir Vexler of Centrus.

Nuclear power currently appears to have the wind at its back, with growing demand for clean, reliable energy from industry (think data centers) and strong political support for new projects. But getting there still will require a lot of pieces to yet fall into place. It is, as American Nuclear Society CEO Craig Piercy said, a “chicken and egg” problem: Which comes first, the fuel to supply new reactors or the reactors that will create a demand for new fuel?

ANS Fireside Chat introduces new leaders for ANS, UCOR

June 3, 2026, 3:24PMANS News
ANS CEO Craig Piercy and incoming ANS President Mark Peters at the ANS Annual Conference.

On Tuesday, during Mark Peters’s last days as the American Nuclear Society’s vice president/president-elect before assuming the presidency on June 4, he sat down with ANS CEO Craig Piercy for a Fireside Chat at the Annual Conference.

The MITRE CEO weighed in on his career path, what excites and worries him about the resurgence of nuclear energy, and juggling work-life balance with his new duties as ANS’s 72nd president.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s an important year,” he told Piercy.

ANS Annual Conference session focuses on maritime nuclear

June 3, 2026, 9:45AMANS News
BWXT’s Jonathan Stephens moderated the “Advancing Nuclear Powered Maritime Shipping” session, featuring, from left, Savannah Fitzwater of the DOE, Meg Albrecht of Lloyd’s Register, Scott Edwards of Core Power, Sanjay Mukhi of Deployable Energy, and Xiaodong Sun of the University of Michigan.

At the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference on June 1, an executive session covered the increasingly prominent subject of nuclear applications in the civilian maritime industry.

Panelists who presented during “Advancing Nuclear Powered Maritime Shipping” highlighted the fact that the commercial shipping industry, the nuclear industry, and government agencies are looking at nuclear power as a solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 3 percent of which are attributed to commercial shipping.

National awards to be presented at 2026 ANS Annual Conference

May 28, 2026, 7:28AMANS News

Ahead of this year's Annual Conference, which is taking May 31–June 3 in Denver, Colo., the American Nuclear Society is excited to recognize exceptional individuals in the nuclear community. This season’s national award recipients and new Fellows of ANS will receive official recognition during the opening plenary on Monday, June 1.

New CNP exam window opens

May 26, 2026, 12:58PMANS News

Applications are now open for the summer 2026 testing period for the American Nuclear Society’s Certified Nuclear Professional (CNP) exam. Applications are being accepted through July 2, and only three testing sessions are offered per year, so it is important to apply soon. The test administration period is July 28–September 1. To check eligibility and schedule your exam, click here.

EHSS and the DOE’s Technical Standards Program

May 26, 2026, 7:05AMANS News

The American Nuclear Society’s Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policy Committee (RP3C) held another presentation in its monthly Community of Practice (CoP) series. Former RP3C chair N. Prasad Kadambi opened the April 24 meeting with brief introductory remarks about the RP3C and the overall importance of risk-informed, performance-based (RIPB) design principles.

Educator training webinar looks at lunar nuclear power

May 13, 2026, 9:29AMANS News
Radioisotope power systems have enabled more than 90 percent of all non-human operational time on the lunar surface. (Source: Zeno Power)

The American Nuclear Society recently hosted a new webinar in its ongoing Educator Training series titled, “Powering the Lunar Frontier: Nuclear Energy for the Artemis Era.” This webinar featured a presentation from Harsh Desai, chief commercialization officer at Zeno Power and chair of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Space Nuclear Taskforce.

Inconsistent terminology: An RIPB stumbling block

April 29, 2026, 1:09PMANS News

The American Nuclear Society’s Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policy Committee (RP3C) held another presentation in its monthly Community of Practice (CoP) series. Former RP3C chair N. Prasad Kadambi opened the March 27 meeting with brief introductory remarks about the RP3C and the recent incorporation of risk-informed, performance-based (RIPB) design principles in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Part 53 framework. He then welcomed this month’s speaker: Lyndsey Fyffe, a nuclear safety engineer with Strategic Management Solutions, who presented “RIPB Terminology Across the Nuclear Industry.”

Mark your calendar for the 2026 ANS Annual Conference

April 20, 2026, 12:09PMANS News

The American Nuclear Society’s 2026 Annual Conference is coming up fast. From May 31 to June 3, leaders from across the nuclear industry will gather in Denver, Colo., to discuss the state of the industry and emerging opportunities.

To register for the conference, make hotel reservations, and explore the full program, visit ans.org/meetings/ac2026/.

DOE awards ANS-backed workforce consortium $19.2M

April 16, 2026, 2:59PMANS News

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy recently awarded about $49.7 million to 10 university-led projects aiming to develop nuclear workforce training programs around the country.

DOE-NE issued its largest award, $19.2 million, to the newly formed Great Lakes Partnership to Enhance the Nuclear Workforce (GLP). This regional consortium, which is led by the University of Toledo and includes the American Nuclear Society, will use the funds to fill a variety of existing gaps in the nuclear workforce pipeline.