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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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.”
Jean-Claude Nimal
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 405-410
Shielding | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 2) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9217
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
NAÏADE 1 shielding experiments were performed in the shielding laboratory at the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (French Atomic Energy Commission) in Fontenay aux Roses during the period 1965-1970. These experiments consisted of studying either the pure thermal neutron attenuation or the fission neutron attenuation in various materials such as water, iron, graphite, concrete, and multilayer shields. A reassessment of the experimental results was made between 2003 and 2005, and the results were evaluated again during the period 2007-2008. For each experimental configuration, the fission neutron source of a converter was calculated by using the TRIdimensionel POLYcinétique (TRIPOLI-4) Monte Carlo code. A part of the experimental results has been compared to the results of TRIPOLI-4. This work will be continued to analyze other benchmarks with integration into the Shielding INtegral Benchmark Archive Database (SINBAD).
