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The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
Ronald Stinson was the 33rd president of the American Nuclear Society (ANS). He joined the Society in 1962 at the same time joining the Operations and Power Division. He was an ANS Fellow, the highest grade of membership of the Society.
Born on April 30, 1931, and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, he graduated from Texas A&M in 1953 with a BS in range management before joining the Army. He and his wife moved to Darmstadt, Germany, where he was stationed. He applied for early release from the service, but was denied because his nuclear training and knowledge were in demand.
After his army commitment was met, he returned to Texas A&M, just as they were just introducing a nuclear program. He earned an MS in nuclear engineering in 1961, becoming one of the first two graduates to hold such a degree.
Stinson moved to Hanford, Washington landing a position working on the big eight reactors of the Hanford Project, which was run by General Electric (GE). Eventually he was transferred to the Vallecitos Lab in the San Francisco East Bay area as manager of nuclear safety. While at Vallecitos he spent much of his time occupied with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Later he took a promotion as project engineer of Dresden 2 & 3 and Quad Cities Nuclear Plants, and he was later recruited by Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in Herald, California to staff and build the Rancho Seco Nuclear Plant.
He left SMUD and became the director of projects at General Atomic (GA), but shortly after GA pulled out of the nuclear industry completely. Stinson and three of his industry colleagues formed a successful consulting business, Manage Analysis Company.
Ronald Calvin Stinson, Jr. passed away on June 27, 2019.
Read Nuclear News from July 1987 for more on Ronald.
