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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.
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Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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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Resurrecting Three Mile Island
When Exelon Generation shut down Three Mile Island Unit 1 in September 2019, managers were so certain that the reactor would never run again that as soon as they could, they had workers drain the oil out of both the main transformer and a spare to eliminate the chance of leaks. The company was unable to find a buyer because of the transformers’ unusual design. “We couldn’t give them away,” said Trevor Orth, the plant manager. So they scrapped them.
Now they will pay $100 million for a replacement.
The turnaround at the reactor—now called the Crane Clean Energy Center—highlights two points: how smart Congress was to step in with help to prevent premature closures with the zero-emission nuclear power production credit of 0.3 cents per kilowatt-hour (only two years too late), and how expensive it is turning out to be to change course.
Dr. William Earl Shoupp was elected the 10th president of the American Nuclear Society (ANS). He was a Fellow of ANS.
Dr. Shoupp was born on October 12, 1908. He began his career with Westinghouse Research Laboratories in 1938 and held positions involving the direction of research on nuclear power since 1943. He spent his entire career at Westinghouse, and in 1963 became vice president and general manager of Research Laboratories, Westinghouse Electric Corporation. He continued to serve as a consultant after his retirement in 1973.
Shortly after joining Westinghouse, he directed work on the world’s first industrial atom smasher at Westinghouse. In 1943, he was placed in charge of the company’s nuclear physics and electronics research. Dr. Shoupp was co-discoverer of photo fission, the splitting of uranium atoms by high speed gamma rays. When Westinghouse formed an atomic power division in 1949, Dr. Shoupp became one of the original members of that division staff. He later served as assistant atomic power division manager in charge of development, and subsequently, as technical director of the company’s commercial atomic power organization, and technical director of the Astronuclear Lab.
After World War II, he was instrumental in persuading the Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission that nuclear energy should be used to power submarines, from which came the first submarine reactor that powered the USS Nautilus. He was also in charge of R&D for several nuclear plants, including Shippingport and Yankee-Rowe. Following his retirement in 1973, in addition to serving as a consultant to Westinghouse, Dr. Shoupp also consulted for the Office of Coal Research, the Electric Power Research Institute, and other organizations.
He was a member and Fellow of the American Physical Society, IEEE and ASME. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1967, and subsequently served as Vice President of the Academy (1973-1978) and Acting President (1974-1975). He also served on many government advisory committees. He received many awards throughout his career, including the Westinghouse Order of Merit in 1953 for outstanding development work on the Nautilus, and the Industrial Research Institute Medal in 1973, and was awarded 9 patents.
Dr. Shoupp held a bachelor’s degree in physics from Miami University of Ohio (1931) and master’s and doctorate in physics (in 1933 and 1938, respectively) from the University of Illinois. He also received honorary doctorates from Miami University and Indiana Institute of Technology.
Dr. William Earl Shoupp passed away on November 21, 1981.
Last modified November 24, 2020, 10:45am CST
