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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
V. Rajagopal
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 12 | Number 2 | February 1962 | Pages 218-224
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE62-A26060
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An experimental investigation has been made of the self-fluctuations in neutron density in a nuclear reactor, and the response in neutron density for random reactivity inputs, using analog correlation techniques. The analysis of self-fluctuations was based on ion chamber measurements of the fluctuations of neutron intensity at various points. Autocorrelation analysis was then used to find the power spectrum of the fluctuations, which has the shape of square modulus of transfer function. A random reactivity input was realized by using an electromechanical system to convert the white noise of a radioactive source into linear motion of a small neutron absorber. Analysis of the response was made by autocorrelating the reactivity input and cross-correlating the reactivity input and the response in neutron density, and determining their spectra. The amplitude and phase of the reactor transfer function were determined from these spectra. Results are presented on some measurements made on a small reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The measured transfer function agrees with the calculated transfer function.