Governance

The academic publishing industry—an industry that was very stable for over a century—is now experiencing a tremendous shift. Attitudes regarding the use, delivery, and costs of publication are at the center of the matter, causing publishers to investigate new publishing models. These changing attitudes require ANS to think differently to improve content offerings while continuing to generate needed revenue. The focus is on two trends: the elimination of author page charges, and the rise of open access publishing. The latter item is a relatively recent phenomenon that has been gaining traction over the past decade, especially in the medical and biology fields, but the former is an issue that has caused friction between authors and publishers for a generation or more.

Marzano.

The American Nuclear Society has selected Matthew Marzano to serve as the 2022 Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow.

“Matt is in a unique position to provide significant technical assistance to the U.S. Congress on nuclear energy, particularly now as there are important discussions that will shape the future of U.S. energy policy,” said Harsh S. Desai, chair of the ANS Congressional Fellowship Committee and a former congressional fellow himself.

“Members of Congress and their staff will greatly benefit from Matt’s depth of experience in commercial and defense nuclear power plant operations,” Desai said. “The fellowship will also be an opportunity for Matt to develop his policy expertise and learn ‘how the sausage is made.’”

“On behalf of the 10,000 members of the American Nuclear Society, I thank House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur, Ranking Member Mike Simpson, and the full House Appropriations Committee for including increased support for nuclear R&D and education and workforce programs in the Fiscal Year 2022 Energy and Water appropriations bill.

In a July 1 letter to President Biden, ANS President Steven Nesbit and ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy stated that a full complement of five commissioners is essential to the effectiveness of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in protecting public health and safety while enabling the deployment and applications of nuclear technology.

The theme of the 2021 ANS Virtual Annual Meeting—Breaking Through to Deployment—is a theme of action. It can take substantial momentum, shrewdly applied, to break through barriers.

The only constant, as the saying goes, is change. Since adopting the American Nuclear Society Change Plan 2020 at the ANS Winter Meeting in 2019, the Society has been in a state of seemingly constant change. Many important improvements have been implemented under the Change Plan—including to this magazine and our news site, ans.org/news—with an eye toward making ANS a more modern and adaptable organization. Some changes also have better enabled ANS to quickly respond to events that were out of our control and forced us to take on new endeavors (thanks, COVID‑19)—a prime example being the 2020 ANS Virtual Annual Meeting and subsequent virtual meetings that followed.

Part 2 of the ANS Board of Directors board-onboarding sessions is scheduled for Friday, May 21 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm EDT. The first hour will be a continuation of the diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

The United States is embarking on a new coordinated federal low-dose radiation research program. With guidance from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science will build a program that integrates the research of past decades, but without treading the same well-worn path. Instead, the new program will focus on how the scientific understanding of low-dose radiation can best be augmented, applied, and communicated.

Arndt

Wharton

The results are in. Steven Arndt, ANS Fellow and member since 1981, has been elected the next ANS vice president/president-elect, and W.A. “Art” Wharton III, ANS member since 2004, was elected for a second two-year term as treasurer.

Four candidates were elected to serve three-year terms as at-large members of the Board of Directors.

The 2021 ANS Election is open. This is your chance to help shape the future of your Society.

All ANS members were sent an email on February 22 with a unique username and password from Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS). If you did not receive this email or you do not have your election login information, please go to directvote.net/ANS, enter your email address that is on file with ANS, and your election login information will be emailed to you.