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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
Dr. Leland J. Haworth was the third president of the American Nuclear Society and a charter member of the Society.
Dr. Haworth was born on July 11, 1904. He started his work career teaching high school and working on his father’s farm for two years. He eventually returned to school earning a scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin to pursue a doctorate, which he received in 1931.
He remained at the University of Wisconsin and taught for six years. He also began working on particle accelerators there in 1934. In 1937, he spent a year working at MIT, and then took a faculty position at the University of Illinois.
After World War II began, Dr. Haworth returned to MIT to participate in wartime research at the MIT Radiation Laboratory, developing new radar systems. He was a member of the steering committee and helped to manage the laboratory. He also wrote large sections of the Radiation Laboratory Series, a highly regarded technical work.
When Brookhaven National Laboratory was formed in 1948, he moved there as assistant director for special projects. The following year, he assumed the role of director and served in that position until 1961. While there, he helped with the construction of many experimental facilities.
In 1961, he was appointed by President Kennedy as a Commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission. In this role, he headed the research efforts of the AEC. He supported a ban on atmospheric nuclear testing, helped develop the Limited Test Ban Treaty, and worked on Operation Plowshare, an effort to use nuclear bombs in large-scale excavation projects. In 1962, Dr. Haworth wrote Civilian Nuclear Power–A Report to the President–1962, an influential public policy paper.
In 1963, President Kennedy appointed Dr. Haworth to head the National Science Foundation, where he worked on a number of large-scale scientific projects, and helped draft a major NSF reorganization bill. When his term ended in 1969, Dr. Haworth returned to Long Island, where he worked part-time for the president of Associated Universities, Inc., a position he held until 1975, and was special consultant to the director of Brookhaven. He earned a master’s degree in physics from Indiana University in 1927.
Dr. Leland J. Haworth passed away on March 5, 1979.
