ANS News

American Nuclear Society members Mark T. Peters, Kenneth W. Robuck, and Thomas R. White were reelected to the Nuclear Energy Institute’s board of directors during its May 20 meeting. The board is composed of executives from companies that hold licenses to operate nuclear energy facilities and selected representatives of other organizations involved in commercial nuclear technologies. Members of the executive committee and the board’s non-utility members typically serve three-year terms, and officers are elected annually.

American Nuclear Society members who are parent­ing K–12 students have been drafted to serve as home ed­ucators during the COVID-19 pandemic. While schools may have provided e-learning resources, the school year is at an end. How can concerned parents prevent the dreaded summer slide?

Here’s our suggestion: turn to Navigating Nuclear: Energizing Our World, ANS’s K–12 curriculum devel­oped in partnership with Discovery Education, and teach nuclear chem­istry! Even if you live apart from the children in your life, consider using Zoom to introduce Navigating Nuclear to children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

Craig Piercy

Dear ANS Members,

In the midst of a global pandemic, it feels insufficient somehow to begin a letter with the oft-used expression of hope that it “finds you well.” We are all affected by COVID-19 in some way that makes us less “well” in our lives, whether caused by the virus itself or the socioeconomic ramifications of our response to it. Perhaps it is more realistic for me to hope that you and your family are healthy, generally well-provisioned, and gainfully occupied as we all, collectively and individually, find a way to make the best of our “new normal.”

Marilyn Kray

What can be said that hasn’t already been said about these “uncertain times”? There are numerous mottos and catchphrases out there. I choose to follow this one: “Stay home. Stay positive.”

I’ve been staying home, which is quite a change for me since I spent over half of the first two months of 2020 traveling. It all came to a screeching halt in early March. Working remotely is not that different for me, as I’m used to working in hotels and on planes. The biggest difference is that when my husband walks by and I order a Diet Coke and extra pretzels, he doesn’t respond like an American Airlines flight attendant!

ANS’s first Virtual Trivia Night drew over 80 contestants who were ready to test their nuclear knowledge during an evening of Zoom-based socialization sponsored by the ANS Young Members Group, the Student Sections Committee, and the Diversity and Inclusion in ANS Committee. YMG Vice Chair Catherine Prat hosted the May 8 event. “I really appreciated seeing how engaged the players were throughout the night,” she said. “They were great guinea pigs for this first-of-a-kind event, as we continue to explore ways to connect virtually.”

The ANS Standards Committee has just published ANSI/ANS-2.8-2019, “Probabilistic Evaluation of External Flood Hazards for Nuclear Facilities.” The new standard supersedes ANS-2.8-1992, which was withdrawn in 2002.

The ANS Young Members Group (YMG) is delivering an in-depth look at the Department of Energy’s national laboratories through a series of live webinars called Spotlight on National Labs. The third and most recent webinar attracted more than 1,000 participants who were keen to learn about the mission and key projects of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The ANS Young Members Group (YMG) is offering a series of live webinars—Spotlight on National Labs—to highlight the missions, key projects, and rising stars of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories. Recently it was Argonne National Laboratory’s turn to shine.

Williams

When I was notified of my selection as the American Nuclear Society’s Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow shortly after last year’s ANS Annual Meeting, I knew I was about to embark on an exciting new adventure. Little did I know how eventful and unique it would be.

Nesbit

All the votes are counted and Steven P. Nesbit, an ANS member since 1989, has been elected the next ANS vice president/president-elect. Five candidates were elected to serve three-year terms as at-large members of the Board of Directors. The new VP/president-elect and directors will begin their terms on June 11 during the 2020 ANS Annual Meeting, which is being conducted online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listed below are the ANS professional divisions’ 2020–2021 officers and newly elected executive committee members. All terms begin during the ANS Annual Meeting in June. (Executive committee members whose three-year terms are continuing are not included.)

More information about ANS’s 19 professional divisions and two working groups is available by clicking the link.

This story was updated on April 29 with details about the ANS Annual Meeting.

The American Nuclear Society remains committed to serving the needs of the nuclear community even as the COVID-19 pandemic affects how we all communicate. Read on to learn more about the timely content that ANS is delivering to fit the way you live and work today.

Cancel your flight to Phoenix, but keep your calendar free! ANS is transforming its 2020 ANS Annual Meeting—coming up June 8-11—into an online conference. The virtual meeting will deliver the top-quality content and technical exchange you've come to expect from ANS meetings while ensuring the health and safety of everyone involved.

An interview with ANS Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Craig Piercy is featured on E&E News’ EnergyWire online publication. Piercy discussed issues facing the nuclear community, including COVID-19 challenges at power plants, the role of nuclear in the future, and politics on Capitol Hill.

ANS Young Members Group Chair Harsh Desai

The ANS Young Members Group has developed a new live webinar series that is free to all, and Harsh Desai is excited. “We have a great opportunity to highlight our national laboratory infrastructure, which is a pinnacle of innovation in nuclear science, technology, and engineering,” said Desai, chair of the YMG. “We’re giving each of the national labs the opportunity to highlight their mission, key projects, and rising stars, and we’re also giving members of the YMG executive committee valuable leadership experience building and moderating the webinar panels.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced 2020 ANS Student Conference organizers to cancel plans to meet in person on the campus of North Carolina State University, they already had a full calendar of events and hundreds of registered attendees. While the meeting could be rescheduled, graduating students who had signed up to participate in the Student Design Competition would miss the chance to present their research. Finding a way for those students to present their work was a priority.

ANS Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Craig Piercy has submitted testimony on the administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2021 Department of Energy budget to the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees on Energy and Water Development, urging congressional appropriators to increase funding for nuclear-related programs. The testimony was submitted on March 31.

Dear ANS members,

As you know, the staff and I are in the midst of implementing a significant overhaul of ANS operations, as guided by the letter and spirit of ANS Change Plan 2020.

We are off to a good start. We have changed the ANS organization chart to knock down silos and bring fresh leadership to our Publications and Digital Technology Departments. We have embarked on a major overhaul of our IT infrastructure to leverage the advantages of cloud computing and significantly improve our cybersecurity posture. Our first visible improvement will be a modernized ANS website, scheduled to go live for members and the general public in a matter of weeks, followed by digital access to Nuclear News and related content this summer.

Progress is continuing, both inside our Society and in the areas we serve. The Executive Committee is committed to working with the ANS staff to implement the initiatives set forth in ANS Change Plan 2020. You may recall that our plans included an operational review of ANS headquarters. Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy has announced organizational changes that went into effect in early February. We made some difficult decisions, but ones that will have a positive impact on our operating budget and improve the delivery of services to our members. I have tremendous confidence in the dedication of the staff and the vision of our new leaders. This has been a year of tremendous uncertainty and change, and I am grateful for the resiliency and focus of our staff.

OSU Student Section Faculty Advisor Samuel Briggs accepted a certificate from ANS President Marilyn Kray (foreground). From left to right, section officers pictured are Matthew Hageman, Andrew Ritacco, Brandon Kamiyama, Taighlor Story, Lucia Gomez-Hurtado, Elizabeth Jurgensen, Maren Arneson, and Stephanie Juarez.

The ANS Oregon State University (OSU) Student Section hosted a 50th anniversary celebration on March 3 with ANS President Marilyn Kray as their guest.

“The officers did an amazing job and deserve all the credit for organizing a very successful 50th anniversary event,” said Samuel Briggs, an assistant professor in OSU’s School of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) and the student section’s faculty advisor.

Following a dinner that featured a slideshow of historic OSU photos, students had a chance to pose questions to an expert panel. Kray took part in the panel together with NSE Emeritus Professor and ANS Past President Andrew Klein (2016–2017), NSE School Head and Professor Kathy Higley, and NSE Associate School Head and Professor Wade Marcum. They were asked about future obstacles and prospects for the nuclear industry, public outreach and advocacy, and nuclear engineering career development. “Local members asked some great questions of the panel—even I learned something!” Briggs said.