The NCSD 2022 conference kicks off with an opening plenary designed to inspire and inform the past, current, and future generations of nuclear criticality safety professionals. Catherine Percher, the NCSD 2022 General Chair, will welcome everyone to the conference and provide an overview of what to expect during the week. The current ANS NCSD Chair, David Erickson, will provide an overview of the division, how it fits within the larger ANS, its focus on the ANS-8 series of standards, and the ways of getting involved. Angela Chambers, the Program Manager for the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) and the largest funder of NCS-related research in the US, will give an overview of the NCSP and the many products and services the program provides to the field of NCS. Julie-Fiona Martin, the secretariate for the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety, will describe international NCS collaboration efforts that are supported by the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Finally, the two winners of our speech contest will provide a prospective of working in the NCS field from two ends of the experience spectrum: Liam Payne, from Nuclear Waste Services in the UK, will share his experiences as a relative newcomer to NCS, and Larry Wetzel, from BWX Technologies, will share his experiences as a senior nuclear criticality safety engineer with many years of involvement in the field and the ANS NCSD.


Speakers:

  • Catherine Percher, NCSD 2022 General Chair, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA
  • David Erickson, 2021-2022 ANS NCSD Chair, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, USA
  • Angela Chambers, Manager, Department of Energy Nuclear Criticality Safety Program, USA
  • Julie-Fiona Martin, Working Party for Nuclear Criticality Safety Secretariate, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, France
  • Liam Payne, Criticality Safety Research Manager, Nuclear Waste Services, UK
  • Larry Wetzel, Senior Advisory Engineer, BWX Technologies, Inc, USA

The NCSD Opening Plenary will conclude with five Lightning Talks. The papers that accompany the Lighting Talks can be found in Monday's Technical Sessions program.