Milton Levenson Distinguished Service Award

Description

The ANS Distinguished Service Award recognizes ANS members who have contributed in an outstanding manner to the vigor of the Society or who have made outstanding non-technical contributions to the nuclear field. Such contributions might include development and understanding or extension of the goals and policies of the Society, outstanding leadership in and for the Society, or for outstanding non-technical contributions to the Society’s aims in any area.

The award consists of an engraved plaque which may be presented by the ANS President at the President’s Special Session during either ANS Annual or Winter Conference. There is no predetermined frequency or time for presentation of the award.

Background

Thanks to a generous donation in 2020 from Margaret Chu, a member of the American Nuclear Society since 2000, the ANS Distinguished Service Award was named to honor Milton Levenson, ANS past president (1983–1984) and Fellow who died in 2018. Chu’s career path intersected with Levenson many times over a 13-year span through their work as consultants. Following his death, Chu wanted a way to honor the man she described as “an extraordinary scientist who dedicated over 70 years of his life to nuclear energy.”

Milton Levenson was an ANS member for more than 50 years and was elected in 1983 as the Society’s 29th president. He had a long and successful 73 years in the industry, beginning his work experience at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1944, mostly focused on nuclear reactor safety and fuel processing.

Levenson served as a research engineer as part of the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge from 1944 to 1948; during part of that time (1944–1946) he was also in the U.S. Army. In 1948, he moved to Illinois to work at Argonne National Laboratory, where he retired as associate laboratory director in 1973.

Levenson then moved to the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., where he served as the first director of the nuclear power division, a post he held until 1980. From 1981 to 1988, he served as executive consultant to Bechtel Power Corporation and became vice president of Bechtel International in 1984, a position he kept until 1989. In 1990, he began work as a private executive consultant and ended his career as a senior technical advisor to the weapons safety program of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Selection Method

The criteria for this award are quite broad and cannot be applied as a rigid standard to any one individual. The award is a suggestive award and each nomination is considered on the basis of the individual’s merits and contributions.

Nominations are evaluated by the ANS Honors and Awards Committee. The nominee must receive a majority of the total membership’s positive votes, with no more than twenty percent (20%) of the Honors and Awards Committee voting in the negative to be recommended for the award. A positive recommendation by the Honors and Awards Committee is then forwarded to the ANS Executive Committee for approval.

Nominations must include the completed nomination form accompanied by the following supporting documents:

• A letter of recommendation from the nominator
• A narrative summary of about 1,000 words, including accomplishments, period of activity, and significance of achievements
• Letters of support (support letters recommended but not required; no more than five)