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Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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!
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2024
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Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
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Nuclear technology may have come a long way in the past 60-70 years, but new ideas have the possibility of moving at a much faster pace in today's advanced scientific environment.
Those who work in nuclear professions recognize the many benefits that nuclear technologies currently bring to our lives, and are driven to continuously make them better and to take them in new and exciting directions.
That is what the Nuclear Grand Challenges project is about.
American Nuclear Society members were involved in the selection process, because they are the specialists best positioned to know the current landscape and potential for the future of nuclear technologies. The project was launched at the ANS 2016 Winter Meeting with a roundtable brainstorming session with more than 125 nuclear professionals. ANS members, as well as the public, were then invited to submit their ideas.
Nearly 300 proposed challenges were analyzed and vetted by the appropriate ANS Professional Division(s). Each division selected one to three Division Grand Challenges. A selection committee including all ANS division chairs and board of directors members identified nine ANS Nuclear Grand Challenges that were announced at the ANS Annual Meeting on June 12, 2017, in San Francisco, Calif.
The results are the ANS Nuclear Grand Challenges below. These will provide an opportunity for ANS members and other interested parties to drive conversations about the issues needed to be addressed to advance the benefits of nuclear science and technology for future generations.
Last modified June 12, 2017, 2:20pm CDT