ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by OPD
Wednesday, June 19, 2024|10:00–11:45AM PDT|Jasmine C
Session Chair:
Andrew Whittaker (SUNY Distinguished Professor, University at Buffalo)
Alternate Chair:
Chandrakanth Bolisetti (Senior Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory)
Session Organizer:
For the United States to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, we will need to deploy nuclear power plants at an unprecedented speed and scale. Construction of nuclear power plants has been challenging in the recent decades - schedule delays, cost overruns, among other factors, impeded the widely-anticipated "nuclear renaissance" and damaged industry confidence. Civil works amount to almost half the capital costs of nuclear power plant built in the past and are a major contributor to overruns. Without advances and civil engineering and construction methods of nuclear power plants, advanced nuclear construction will face the same barriers and urgent, large-scale deployment will be almost impossible. The goal of this panel session is to bring attention to the importance of civil engineering of nuclear plants and shed some light on ongoing development and much needed technological advances in this topic.
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