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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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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Latest News
Empowering the next generation: ANS’s newest book focuses on careers in nuclear energy
A new career guide for the nuclear energy industry is now available: The Nuclear Empowered Workforce by Earnestine Johnson. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience across 16 nuclear facilities, Johnson offers a practical, insightful look into some of the many career paths available in commercial nuclear power. To mark the release, Johnson sat down with Nuclear News for a wide-ranging conversation about her career, her motivation for writing the book, and her advice for the next generation of nuclear professionals.
When Johnson began her career at engineering services company Stone & Webster, she entered a field still reeling from the effects of the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, nearly 15 years earlier. Her hiring cohort was the first group of new engineering graduates the company had brought on since TMI, a reflection of the industry-wide pause in nuclear construction. Her first long-term assignment—at the Millstone site in Waterford, Conn., helping resolve design issues stemming from TMI—marked the beginning of a long and varied career that spanned positions across the country.
2021 CONTE Virtual Meeting Plenary Session Speaker
Maria Lacal is Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer for Arizona Public Service Company (APS). Lacal is responsible for all nuclear-related activities associated with the Palo Verde Generating Station, the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy. She is also responsible for the nuclear assurance division and employee concerns and safety culture programs. Lacal joined APS in 2007 as the director of strategic projects at Palo Verde. She was promoted to vice president of operations support in 2011, and then promoted to senior vice president of regulatory and oversight in 2015. Before joining APS, Lacal served as director of operations support for the nuclear division of Florida Power & Light Co., and held management positions at Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station in Florida. Lacal obtained a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Senior Reactor Operator License in 1996. Lacal also has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Miami and completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.
Last modified December 7, 2020, 4:35pm EST
