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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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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What’s the most difficult question you’ve been asked as a maintenance instructor?
Blye Widmar
"Where are the prints?!"
This was the final question in an onslaught of verbal feedback, comments, and critiques I received from my students back in 2019. I had two years of instructor experience and was teaching a class that had been meticulously rehearsed in preparation for an accreditation visit. I knew the training material well and transferred that knowledge effectively enough for all the students to pass the class. As we wrapped up, I asked the students how they felt about my first big system-level class, and they did not hold back.
“Why was the exam from memory when we don’t work from memory in the plant?” “Why didn’t we refer to the vendor documents?” “Why didn’t we practice more on the mock-up?” And so on.
Dr. Clarke Williams was the ninth president of the American Nuclear Society and a charter member.
Dr. Williams was born on December 18, 1903. He was an expert in neutron physics, gaseous diffusion and related fields contributing to the development of the atomic bomb.
He began his career working for the Duke Price Power Company in Quebec and the New York Central Railroad before joining Columbia University as an assistant in the physics department in 1926. In 1930 he joined the faculty of the College of the City of New York, leaving as an assistant professor in 1949.
Dr. Williams joined Brookhaven National Laboratory as senior physicist in 1946, after five years of work at Columbia University on a method of separating the U-235 isotope by gaseous diffusion, a step in the development of the atomic bomb. The project eventually became a part of the Manhattan Project, where Dr. Williams was a leader in the construction of a pilot plant. He was chairman of Brookhaven’s nuclear engineering department from 1952 until he was named deputy director in 1962. He was deputy director of the Brookhaven Laboratory from 1962 to 1967, when he was named deputy director emeritus.
In 1967, he became research administrator of the newly formed Regional Marine Resources Council of the NassauSuffolk Planning Board, and later served the council as a consultant.
Dr. Williams, received an bachelor’s degree from Williams College in 1922, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1924, and a doctorate in physics from Columbia University in 1935.
Dr. Clarke Williams passed away on March 15, 1983.
