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Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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Nicholas Tsoulfanidis—ANS member since 1969
We welcome ANS members who have careered in the community to submit their own Nuclear Legacy stories, so that the personal history of nuclear power can be captured. For information on submitting your stories, contact nucnews@ans.org.
As an undergraduate I studied physics at the University of Athens. I entered the university in 1955 after successfully passing a national exam (came up fourth in a field of about 700 candidates). Upon graduation and finishing my mandatory two-year military service, the plan was to teach physics either in a public high school or as a tutor for a private for-profit institution, preparing high school students for the national exam.
Shawkat S. Khairullah, Carl R. Elks
Nuclear Technology | Volume 202 | Number 2 | May-June 2018 | Pages 141-152
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1450014
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
One of the essential concepts being postulated for next generation nuclear power plants (NPPs) that could include Gen IV reactors—small modular reactors—is the notion of resilient and survivable instrumentation and control (I&C) systems. Resilience at the system and plant level will rely on highly robust and fault-tolerant digital embedded devices as a foundation. This paper presents a new self-healing programmable digital I&C architecture, BioSymPLe, inspired from the way nature responds, defends, and heals: the stem cells in the immune system of living organisms and the pathway from DNA to protein. The BioSymPLe is organized in a four-layered approach: (1) cellular layer that includes four sublayers, with each sublayer allocating two functional B cells which represent the building block that executes the local functionality of NPP critical application based on the expression for DNA genetic codes stored inside each cell; (2) tissue layer that embeds eight redundant T cells and eight routing units to facilitate coordination and organized behavior among a network of four cellular sublayers; (3) internal healing layer that monitors the correct execution of functions at the cellular level and activates healing mechanism at the tissue level; and (4) external healing layer using a concept of embryonic stem cells by differentiating this type of cell to repair the faulty T cells. Finally, the BioSymPLe is capable of tolerating a significant number of faults (transient, permanent, or hardware common cause failures) that can stem from environmental disturbances, and we believe it can positively impact the operation of next generation digital I&C systems in NPPs.