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
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
A closer look at the initial NLIC selections—Part 2
In January, the Department of Energy announced its new Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus (NLIC) program, inviting states via a request for information to express their interest in hosting a facility supporting work from the front to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.
By April, 26 states had expressed interest in hosting such a facility. At the end of July, the DOE signed memorandums of understanding with five states—Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah—to more closely explore the possibilities of state-federal partnerships. These MOUs are not firm commitments from either the federal or state governments. Time will tell which—if any—of the five states develop projects through the program. In the meantime, today, we are taking a close look at what Utah, Idaho, Tennessee can offer in terms of a preexisting nuclear sector that could support new fuel cycle developments.
2023 CONTE Virtual Meeting Plenary Session Speaker
Mike Sovinsky is currently the Deputy Chief of the Training Branch in the Flight Operations Directorate at NASA Johnson Space Center. His branch oversees the training to prepare astronauts on the missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and the Artemis missions heading back to the moon. They also conduct the high-fidelity simulations to perform the assessments for flight controller certifications to perform their duties in the Mission Control Center (MCC).
Additionally, Mike is the Chair of the International Training Control Board. This board contains members from the Russian, Japanese, European and Canadian Space Agencies that discusses and decides the overall strategic plan to achieve successful training of the astronauts and flight controllers as they train around the world.
Mike has a master and bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University. He has written a total of one journal article. He lives in League City, Texas with his wife Terra and two children, Ella and Tyler.
Last modified January 24, 2023, 10:36am EST
