At the ANS Annual Meeting in Chicago held June 24-28, I attended the "President's Special Session on Low Level Radiation and Its Implications for Fukushima Recovery," and also the follow-on panel "Health Effects of Low-Level Radiation." The two sessions together could well have been subtitled "The Tragedy of LNT." In case you've forgotten, LNT stands for "Linear No Threshold"-the popular misconception that radiation risk is proportional to dose all the way down to zero.

It is certainly exciting times for NASA and the space nuclear community, as physical testing of nuclear thermal rockets (NTRs) and associated components has begun at NASA and the Department of Energy laboratories across the country. Nuclear thermal propulsion, as discussed in a previous article, is just one form of nuclear propulsion with extensive research behind it, and the only form with an extensive testing background. Near-term efforts by NASA will focus on preparation for ground and flight tests of a scalable Nuclear Thermal Rocket around 2020. However, the larger purpose of the recently restarted testing track is to develop an engine for manned travel to an asteroid, and eventually to our neighboring planet, Mars.

American Nuclear Society (ANS) President Eric Loewen, PhD, presented ANS Outreach Department Director Sharon Kerrick (retired) with a Presidential Citation in recognition of her outstanding career of service to the American Nuclear Society.  Kerrick received her award during the ANS President's Special Session at the ANS Annual Conference: "Nuclear Science and Technology: Managing the Global Impact of Economic and Natural Events," recently held in Chicago, Illinois.

On Thursday, June 28, the American Nuclear Society's Board of Directors formally adopted a position statement entitled U.S. Global Nuclear Leadership through Export-Driven Engagement. ANS position statements reflect the Society's perspectives on issues of public interest that involve various aspects of nuclear science and technology. The text of the June 2012 position statement is below, and the full list of ANS positions statements can be accessed via the ANS website by clicking HERE.

ANS Social Media Meet Up

ATR Users Week

American Nuclear Society (ANS) President Eric Loewen, PhD, presented ANS members Meredith J. Angwin and Howard C. Shaffer, III with Presidential Citations in recognition of their successful public information efforts in Vermont and elsewhere. Angwin and Shaffer received their award during the ANS President's Special Session at the ANS Annual Conference: "Nuclear Science and Technology: Managing the Global Impact of Economic and Natural Events," being held June 24-28 in Chicago, Illinois.

Plenary views

Three members of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) have been named ANS Fellows, ANS President Eric Loewen, PhD, announced today.  The status of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed by the Society.  Dr. Loewen will present the awards to the new ANS Fellows today, during the opening session of the ANS Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, in recognition of their significant achievements and contributions to nuclear science and technology.

Special to ANS Nuclear Cafe

The American Nuclear Society's Annual Conference, to be held June 24-28 in Chicago, Ill., will feature an embedded topical meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination and Reutilization (DD&R 2012).

Eric Loewen, president of the American Nuclear Society, continued his ambitious schedule of local section presentations as he visited ANS sections in Chicago, Ill., on May 16 and Washington, DC, on May 17. Loewen, the featured speaker at the meetings, presented his personal talk in Chicago titled "Going Forward with Nuclear Technology." In DC, his personal talk was titled "The USS Seawolf Sodium-Cooled Reactor Submarine."

Dinner and show at Tommy Gun's Garage

Dinner and show at Tommy Gun's Garage

On  Wednesday, June 6, Dr. Mark T. Peters appeared on behalf  of the American Nuclear Society before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.  Peters is the Deputy Laboratory Director for Programs at Argonne National Laboratory and testified at the invitation of the subcommittee.

Hands-on activity during a November 2011 ANS teachers workshop

The American Nuclear Society's Center for Nuclear Science and Technology Information and the ANS Outreach Department will sponsor a one-day teacher workshop on Saturday, June 23, in Chicago, Ill. The workshop-Detecting Radiation in Our Radioactive World-is for science educators, including elementary, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, physical science, life science, environmental, and general science teachers. The workshop will be held the day before the beginning of the ANS Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Here is an in-depth video interview with American Nuclear Society President Eric Loewen. Portions of this interview have been featured before in articles at the ANS Nuclear Cafe, such as "ANS Special Committee on Fukushima focuses on communication", "ANS to hold teacher workshop in Phoenix, AZ," and others, as well as in other venues. Here is the complete, unabridged version of the interview.

The American Nuclear Society's 2012 Annual Conference-Nuclear Science and Technology: Managing the Global Impact of Economic and Natural Events-will take place June 24-28 in Chicago, Ill.. Discount registration is available through Friday, June 1.

Aris Candris

Aris Candris, Ph.D., senior advisor and a member of the Westinghouse Electric Company Board of Directors, is the recipient of the 2012 Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award. Established in 1972 by the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Smyth Award recognizes outstanding and statesmanlike service in the development and safe management of nuclear energy science. The award commemorates a lifetime's achievement in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.