Full agenda for National Nuclear Science Week 2012

January 20, 2012, 7:15AMANS Nuclear Cafe

National Nuclear Science Week-a week-long celebration to focus local, regional, and national interest on all aspects of nuclear science-has nearly arrived! On January 23-27, events and activities will be held across the United States to recognize the benefits of nuclear science and technology and to introduce the next generation of  scientists and engineers to the applications of nuclear technologies to everyday life. The National Nuclear Science Week website serves as the clearinghouse for next week's activities and is chock-full of great ideas for  how to learn, teach, and celebrate nuclear science and technology.

Development: Taking Charge of Your Career

January 18, 2012, 7:00AMANS Nuclear CafeElizabeth McAndrews-Benavides and Jennifer Varnedoe

Every member of the nuclear industry has a responsibility to focus on his or her own career development as a component of continuous improvement. While this is good advice, young professionals often struggle with how to identify these development opportunities. The question of how to overcome this challenge spirited discussion at the 2011 Young Professionals Conference.

Pretty Energy

January 11, 2012, 7:00AMANS Nuclear CafeSuzy Hobbs Baker

I recently joined the latest social media phenomenon-"Pinterest"-after some good old-fashioned peer pressure from my pals. Basically it is an online scrapbook, where you can collect images from all over the Internet and organize or "pin" them under categories like "recipes to try" or "ideas for the garden" on your personal page. There is very little text and not much user-to-user interaction. You just browse thousands of images of party dresses, wedding ideas, art, or whatever you or other users have uploaded to the site. Essentially it's a whole lot of eye candy.

Vermont Outreach Continues as Opponents Reorganize

January 10, 2012, 7:00AMANS Nuclear CafeHoward Shaffer

On March 21, 2011, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a renewal of the operating license for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant for an additional 20 years. Vermont Yankee's original license would have expired on March 21, 2012, and its state-issued Certificate of Public Good does expire on that date. Most commentators agree that March 21 will not be the last day the plant operates, but the date does give opponents a focal point, and they are planning some kind of civil disobedience on that day. The question remains: Who are "they"?

Greetings from a proud member of "the nuclear party"

January 9, 2012, 8:30PMANS Nuclear CafeRod Adams

Back in the playground-about half a century ago-I learned that it can be fun and frustrating to the bullies if you cheerfully accept the tags that they apply to you. Back then, I was called a four-eyed nerd; for some odd reason I had schoolmates who thought it was a bad thing to be the one who got straight A's and seemed to enjoy learning. The teasing did not bother me; it motivated me to read more good books and to strive to do even better in class.

Nuclear engineering professor takes fellowship at State Department

January 4, 2012, 7:00AMANS Nuclear CafeLenka Kollar

Brown

Gilbert Brown, a professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a long-time member of the American Nuclear Society, has started a year-long fellowship at the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C. The William C. Foster Fellows Visiting Scholars Program was established by Congress in 1983 and gives specialists in the physical sciences an opportunity to use their expertise in support of the arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament activities of the State Department.

Little ado about nothing

January 3, 2012, 5:08PMANS Nuclear Cafe

A so-called scientific article issued on December 19 by Joseph Mangano and Janette Sherman purports that an estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive fallout from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in Japan. The article, published in the International Journal of Health Services, is available by clicking here.