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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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
Aug 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2024
Latest News
Nuclear new build procurement considerations
It may seem counterintuitive, but the best time to enhance the ability to support operations and maintenance for a new plant is before construction starts. This is one of many lessons learned by the currently operating nuclear fleet. As construction and startup of many nuclear facilities was completed, it quickly became evident that the ability to efficiently support operations and maintenance was limited. Most of the information necessary to establish and manage procurement of spare and replacement items, maintenance, and configuration of the facilities was unavailable and had to be gathered on a case-by-case, “on-demand” basis. Absence of necessary information and the associated challenges resulted in the need for staff augmentation and multiyear-long projects to develop equipment bills of material and maintenance programs and to perform technical evaluations for the huge quantities of spare and replacement items being requested.
Educator Training
September 28, 2023|5:00–6:00PM (6:00–7:00PM EDT)
Available to All Users
Protons become neutrons, neutrons become protons, and elements can change from one to another. It’s no wonder radioactive decay can stump students and some teachers. Whether you’re new to teaching radioactive decay or looking for a refresher, Dr. Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar makes this complex topic easier to understand. Dr. Dunzik-Gougar, a professor at Idaho State University and former ANS president, brings more than twenty years of educator professional development experience to this special webinar for K-12 educators.
Presenter
Mary Lou Dunzik-GougarAssociate Dean, College of Science and EngineeringProfessor, Nuclear EngineeringSenior Reactor OperatorIdaho State UniversityANS President (2020-2021)
Moderator
Eric LoewenChief Engineer and ManagerOffice of the Chief EngineerGE Hitachi Nuclear EnergyANS President (2011-2012)
Biographies
Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar
Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar is the associate dean of the Idaho State University (ISU) College of Science and Engineering, associate professor of nuclear engineering and a senior reactor operator at ISU’s Aerojet-General Nucleonics nuclear reactor, commonly known as the AGN-201. Presently, she coordinates the nuclear engineering curriculum at ISU and teaches core graduate and undergraduate courses. She also performs nuclear materials research and is involved in regional and discipline accreditations, ISU’s international program development, and reactor administration.
Mary Lou has published internationally and is recognized as principal investigator of productive research projects incorporating nuclear material irradiation and characterization and the associated management of radioactive material.
She has collaborated on a variety of projects and proposals in university, national laboratory, and international research environments. This includes her work as a joint appointee scientist at Idaho National Laboratory where she led the Simulation Institute for Nuclear Enterprise Modeling and Analysis fuel-cycle modeling project. She also worked at Argonne National Lab with various duties associated with pyroprocessing spent fuel and was also a high school science and math teacher in the U.S. and U.K.
Mary Lou has a B.S. in chemistry from Cedar Crest College and received an M.S. in environmental engineering along with her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear fuels and materials development, spent fuel processing, and waste form development.
An ANS member since 1992, Mary Lou was on the ANS Board of Directors from 1996-1999. She is a member of the Accreditation Policy & Procedures Committee; Development Committee; Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division; Education, Training and Workforce Development Division; the Special Committee on Government Relations; and is the faculty advisor for the ANS Idaho State University Student Section. She is an active member of the Idaho ANS Local Section and has served on numerous organizing committees for local and national meetings.
In 2011 and 2014, she was the recipient of ANS Presidential Citations in addition to the Landis Public Communication and Education Award in 2014.
Eric Loewen
Eric Loewen is the Chief Engineer and Manager of the Chief Engineer’s Office at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, where he is responsible for leading the office in supporting new product and technology development, managing technical and enterprise risk, and mentoring and developing technical talent.
Eric graduated from Western State College with a B.A. in chemistry and mathematics, earned a commission in the U.S. Navy, and subsequently attended Navy Nuclear Power School and the Nuclear Prototype. After his active Navy service, he earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Eric worked in private industry prior to joining Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as a systems integration manager and interim department manager. Currently, he is chief consulting engineer at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) in Wilmington, N.C., where he leads GEH activities to deploy the sodium-cooled advanced reactor PRISM that can recycle used nuclear fuel from the current fleet of water-cooled reactors, as well as fission and eliminate weapons-grade material.
His U.S. Navy leadership roles included: Naval Prototype Nuclear Reactor School Instructor; B-2 Division Officer, Nuclear Quality Officer, Engineering Officer of the Watch, Surface Warfare Officer of the Deck aboard the USS LONG BEACH (CGN-9); and Commanding Officer of two Naval Reserve maintenance support units.
During his career, Eric received many honors and awards including Molten Metal, Inc. Technology Star Award (1995); ANS Public Communication Award (2003); DOE Outstanding Mentor Award (2003); GEH CEO Award (2012).
This webinar is presented by ANS in partnership with the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy.