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Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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.”
Allen G. Croff
Nuclear Technology | Volume 62 | Number 3 | September 1983 | Pages 335-352
Technical Paper | Analyses | doi.org/10.13182/NT83-1
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
ORIGEN2 is a versatile point-depletion and radioactive-decay computer code for use in simulating nuclear fuel cycles and calculating the nuclide compositions and characteristics of materials contained therein. It represents a revision and update of the original ORIGEN computer code, which was developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and distributed worldwide beginning in the early 1970s. Included in ORIGEN2 are provisions for incorporating data generated by more sophisticated reactor physics codes, a free-format input, and a highly flexible and controllable output; with these features, ORIGEN2 has the capability for simulating a wide variety of fuel cycle flow sheets. The decay, cross-section, fission product yield, and photon emission data bases employed by ORIGEN2 have been extensively updated, and the list of reactors that can be simulated includes pressurized water reactors, boiling water reactors, liquid-metal fast breeder reactors, and Canada deuterium uranium reactors. A number of verification activities have been undertaken, including (a) comparison of ORIGEN2 decay heat results with both calculated and experimental values, and (b) comparison of predicted spent fuel compositions with measured values. The agreement between ORIGEN2 and the comparison bases is generally very good. Future work concerning ORIGEN2 will involve continued maintenance and user support along with additional verification studies and limited modifications to enhance its flexibility and usability. ORIGEN2 can be obtained, free of charge, from the ORNL Radiation Shielding Information Center.