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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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
Latest News
Remembering Joseph M. Hendrie
Joseph M. Hendrie
To those of us who knew Joe, even prior to his appointment as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it is an understatement to say that he was a larger-than-life member of the nuclear science and technology enterprise. He was best known to the broader community for two major accomplishments: the design and construction of the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the creation of the standard review plan (SRP) for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
In addition to the products of these endeavors becoming major fundaments to their respective communities, they were uniquely Joe. The safety analysis report for the HFBR was written essentially single-handedly by him. This was true of the SRP as well, which became the key safety review document for the NRC as it performed safety reviews for the growing number of power reactor applications in the United States. His deep technical knowledge of nuclear engineering and his extraordinary management skills made this possible.
Challenge: Expedite nuclear education updates and knowledge transfer.
How: Expedite updates to the higher education Nuclear Engineering curriculum to better match today’s needs. It must include the cross-disciplinary nature of today’s research and the business and communications skills needed for an entrepreneurial path, while improving the transfer of knowledge and expertise in nuclear science and technology from the current generation to future generations.
Background: The nuclear workforce is aging, and the current university Nuclear Engineering curriculum needs to be updated. The average age of nuclear scientists and engineers in the nuclear energy industry, national laboratories, and universities is over 50. These professionals have a wealth of knowledge that is not necessarily written in books. As these workers leave the workforce, much of that knowledge is being lost.
Effective means to transfer that knowledge to the newest group of scientists and engineers needs to be developed and implemented. Additionally, the Nuclear Engineering curriculum in U.S. universities stands essentially unchanged over the past 20-plus years. With the advent of new reactor designs and the challenges within materials science to meet the needs of these new designs, the curriculum structure must be reviewed and updated to better meet the needs of industry, suppliers, and research organizations. Inclusion of courses in advanced reactor design, small reactor design and operation, and materials science may need to be included. If we do not know our history, we are doomed to repeat our predecessors’ mistakes.
Last modified May 12, 2017, 1:23am CDT