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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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Hash Hashemian: Visionary leadership
As Dr. Hashem M. “Hash” Hashemian prepares to step into his term as President of the American Nuclear Society, he is clear that he wants to make the most of this unique moment.
A groundswell in public approval of nuclear is finding a home in growing governmental support that is backed by a tailwind of technological innovation. “Now is a good time to be in nuclear,” Hashemian said, as he explained the criticality of this moment and what he hoped to accomplish as president.
M. T. Farmer, R. Bunt, M. Corradini, P. Ellison, M. Francis, J. Gabor, R. Gauntt, C. Henry, R. Linthicum, W. Luangdilok, R. Lutz, C. Paik, M. Plys, C. Rabiti, J. Rempe, K. Robb, R. Wachowiak
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 184 | Number 3 | November 2016 | Pages 293-304
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE16-13
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The reactor accidents at Fukushima Daiichi have rekindled interest in light water reactor (LWR) severe accident phenomenology. Postevent analyses have identified several areas that may warrant additional research and development (R&D) to reduce modeling uncertainties and assist industry in the development of mitigation strategies and in the refinement of severe accident management guidelines to both prevent significant core damage given a beyond-design-basis event and mitigate source term release if core damage does occur. On these bases, a technology gap evaluation on accident-tolerant components and severe accident analysis methodologies was completed with the goal of identifying any data and/or knowledge gaps that may exist given the current state of LWR severe accident research and augmented by insights gained from recent analyses of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. The ultimate benefit of this activity is that the results can be used as a basis for refining research plans to address key knowledge gaps in severe accident phenomenology that affect reactor safety and that are not being directly addressed by the nuclear industry or the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. As a result of this study, 13 gaps were identified in the areas of severe accident–tolerant components and accident modeling. The results clustered in three main areas: (1) modeling and analysis of in-vessel melt progression phenomena, (2) emergency core cooling system equipment performance under beyond-design-basis accident conditions, and (3) ex-vessel debris coolability and core-concrete interaction behavior relevant to accident management actions. This paper provides a high-level summary of the methodology used for the evaluation, the identified gaps, and, finally, the appropriate R&D that may be completed to address the gaps.