ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
19th International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2025)
Technical Session|Sponsored by NISD
Monday, June 16, 2025|3:15–5:00PM CDT|Purdue/Wisconsin
Session Chair:
David Grabaskas
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Jonathen Facemire
To access paper attachments, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
Register NowLog In
Developing a Probabilistic Risk Assessment Framework for Sodium-Cooled Thermal Reactors: Addressing Unique Challenges and Uncertainties
3:15–3:35PM CDT
Asmaa S. Farag (Aalo Atomics), Parthasarathy Chandran (Aalo Atomics), Amir Afzali (Aalo Atomics), Curtis Smith (INL)
Paper
Multi-Unit Modeling Challenges and Considerations for Xe-100 PRA Event Sequence Models
3:35–3:55PM CDT
Huafei Liao (X-Energy LLC), Mostafa Hamza (X-energy), Drew Nigh (X-energy), Jack Anderson (X-energy), Olivier Retourne (X-energy), Mihai A. Diaconeasa (NCSU)
Application Research of the TI-RIPB Licensing Basis in China's Multi-Module High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor
3:55–4:15PM CDT
Jun Zhao (National Tsinghua University), Jiejuan Tong (INET, Tsinghua University), Yanhua Zheng (INET, Tsinghua university), Jingang Liang (INET,Tsinghua university), liguo Zhang (INET,Tsinghua university), Fubing Chen (INET,Tsinghua university), Hongru Zhao (INET, Tsinghua university)
Presented by Xingyu Xiao (National Tsinghua University)
Important Human Actions for Advanced Reactors: Implications for Risk Analysis
4:15–4:35PM CDT
Jooyoung Park (INL), Torrey Mortenson (INL), Rachael Hill (INL), Casey Robert Kovesdi (INL), Ronald L. Boring (INL)
