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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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May 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
William (Bill) Robert Kimel was elected President of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 1978. He served in many positions at ANS including on the Education, Executive, Planning and Steering Committees since 1958 and was a member of the Board of Directors from 1973- 76. He was named a Fellow of ANS in 1969.
He was a pioneer in nuclear engineering education. He was born on May 2, 1922. From 1946-58, Dr. Kimel taught at Kansas State and also served as head of the university’s nuclear engineering department from 1958-68. He organized and headed what would become the first accredited nuclear engineering department in the United States.
In 1969, he moved to the University of Missouri-Columbia, and served there as dean of the engineering department until 1986. He was named dean emeritus and professor emeritus of nuclear engineering upon his retirement.
In addition to his career in education, Dr. Kimel’s experience included industrial work as an engineer for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Boeing Airplane, Westinghouse Electric Company, U.S. Forest Products Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory.
Dr. Kimel participated in two Geneva Atoms for Peace Conferences as a delegate of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1964 and as a representative/reporter in 1971. In 1981, he was given the Bliss Award for the most outstanding contribution to military engineering education, or for promoting recognition of the importance of technical leadership in the National Defense establishment.
He holds a BS (1944) and an MS (1949) in mechanical engineering from Kansas State, and a PhD in engineering mechanics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1956.
Dr. William Kimel passed away on December 5, 2002.
Read Nuclear News from July 1978 for more on William R. Kimel.
