ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.”
Roger L. Martz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 180 | Number 3 | December 2012 | Pages 316-335
Technical Paper | Special Issue on the Initial Release of MCNP6 / Radiation Transport and Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A15347
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Los Alamos National Laboratory Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code (MCNP) Version 6 (MCNP6) has been extended to include a new capability that permits tracking of neutrons and photons on an unstructured mesh that is embedded as a mesh universe within its constructive solid geometry capability. The mesh geometry is created through Abaqus/CAE using its solid modeling capabilities. MCNP transport results are calculated for mesh elements using a path length estimator while element-to-element tracking is performed on the mesh. The results from MCNP6 can be exported to Abaqus/CAE for visualization or other physics analysis. Three geometrically simple benchmark experiments were analyzed: Godiva, Osaka nickel sphere, and fusion neutron source vanadium cube. Computer run time is proportional to the number of mesh elements, element order, and element type specified in the input. Good agreement of our MCNP6 results with the measured neutron leakage for the nickel sphere and the measured neutron and gamma spectra from the vanadium assembly was observed.
