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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Fusion Science and Technology
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NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
M. L. Spaeth, K. R. Manes, D. H. Kalantar, P. E. Miller, J. E. Heebner, E. S. Bliss, D. R. Speck, T. G. Parham, P. K. Whitman, P. J. Wegner, P. A. Baisden, J. A. Menapace, M. W. Bowers, S. J. Cohen, T. I. Suratwala, J. M. Di Nicola, M. A. Newton, J. J. Adams, J. B. Trenholme, R. G. Finucane, R. E. Bonanno, D. C. Rardin, P. A. Arnold, S. N. Dixit, G. V. Erbert, A. C. Erlandson, J. E. Fair, E. Feigenbaum, W. H. Gourdin, R. A. Hawley, J. Honig, R. K. House, K. S. Jancaitis, K. N. LaFortune, D. W. Larson, B. J. Le Galloudec, J. D. Lindl, B. J. MacGowan, C. D. Marshall, K. P. McCandless, R. W. McCracken, R. C. Montesanti, E. I. Moses, M. C. Nostrand, J. A. Pryatel, V. S. Roberts, S. B. Rodriguez, A. W. Rowe, R. A. Sacks, J. T. Salmon, M. J. Shaw, S. Sommer, C. J. Stolz, G. L. Tietbohl, C. C. Widmayer, R. Zacharias
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 69 | Number 1 | January-February 2016 | Pages 25-145
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-144
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The possibility of imploding small capsules to produce mini-fusion explosions was explored soon after the first thermonuclear explosions in the early 1950s. Various technologies have been pursued to achieve the focused power and energy required for laboratory-scale fusion. Each technology has its own challenges. For example, electron and ion beams can deliver the large amounts of energy but must contend with Coulomb repulsion forces that make focusing these beams a daunting challenge. The demonstration of the first laser in 1960 provided a new option. Energy from laser beams can be focused and deposited within a small volume; the challenge became whether a practical laser system can be constructed that delivers the power and energy required while meeting all other demands for achieving a high-density, symmetric implosion. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the laser designed and built to meet the challenges for study of high-energy-density physics and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. This paper describes the architecture, systems, and subsystems of NIF. It describes how they partner with each other to meet these new, complex demands and describes how laser science and technology were woven together to bring NIF into reality.