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
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
2027 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
October 31–November 4, 2027
Washington, DC|The Westin Washington, DC Downtown
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
Nov 2024
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
December 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2024
Latest News
Disney World should have gone nuclear
There is extra significance to the American Nuclear Society holding its annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, this past week. That’s because in 1967, the state of Florida passed a law allowing Disney World to build a nuclear power plant.
Ronald L. Boring, Thomas A. Ulrich, Torrey J. Mortenson (INL)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1210-1221
This paper provides a concise discussion of levels of automation that may be applied in the design of the control and information systems of control rooms at advanced reactors. The paper highlights that there are two types of automation?control automation for actions performed at the plant and information automation for synthesizing key plant parameters for use by reactor operators. This paper reviews current automation implementations at current nuclear power plants and considers opportunities for enhanced automation in newer plants. While automation may bring clear benefits such as reduced staffing levels, poorly introduced automation can actually have adverse effects on operator performance by relegating operators to tasks at which they perform poorly. This paper concludes with a discussion of considerations for automation relative to primary vs. secondary side control and monitoring.