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.
Division Spotlight
Mathematics & Computation
Division members promote the advancement of mathematical and computational methods for solving problems arising in all disciplines encompassed by the Society. They place particular emphasis on numerical techniques for efficient computer applications to aid in the dissemination, integration, and proper use of computer codes, including preparation of computational benchmark and development of standards for computing practices, and to encourage the development on new computer codes and broaden their use.
Meeting Spotlight
2023 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 12–15, 2023
Washington, D.C.|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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Sep 2023
Jan 2023
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2023
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The Ubiquity of PFAS: An Emerging Issue in Decommissioning
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), an anthropogenic class of several thousand chemicals made for use in products such as nonstick cookware, water-, grease-, and stain-resistant materials, surfactants, and fire suppression foams [1], are emerging as a complicating factor in nuclear decommissioning. These chemicals, which have been manufactured globally, including in the United States, have gained regulatory and public attention due to their persistence and ubiquity in the environment, ability to be detected at low parts-per-trillion levels, and health-based standards set at levels hundreds to thousands of times lower than more classic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
2021 CONTE Virtual Meeting Plenary Session Speaker
Dr. Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar is Associate Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Idaho State University. She has a PhD in nuclear engineering and MS in environmental engineering from Penn State University and a BS in chemistry from Cedar Crest College. Her nuclear career spans 25 years, during which time she has performed research in various aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, including waste form development, spent fuel pyroprocessing, spent particle fuel qualification for disposal, fuel and material development and characterization (pre- and post-irradiation), development of a waste minimization plan for a next generation nuclear reactor design, and fuel cycle modeling. Dr. Dunzik-Gougar’s research has led to national and international collaborations, including a year-long position with PBMR Ltd in South Africa and a consulting contract with EDF energy of France. She has served as consultant/ subject matter expert for subsequent projects coordinated by the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency. She has led multi-institutional teams of researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory and through Idaho State University. To share her expertise with a new generation of researchers, Dr. Dunzik-Gougar developed and teaches several senior/graduate level courses on the nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management. Before going to graduate school she taught high school science and mathematics for 7 years in the U.S. and the U.K. In addition to her scholarly and technical activities, she has been a contributing member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) at local and national levels for 25 years. In 2019, she was elected to serve as Vice-President/President Elect for ANS and she began her term as President in June 2020.
Last modified December 7, 2020, 4:41pm EST