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 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
SC Nuclear Summit focuses on V.C. Summer
The second annual South Carolina Nuclear Summit held last week featured utility executives and legislators from the state, as well as leaders from Brookfield Asset Management, which is being considered to restart construction on the two abandoned reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in Fairfield County. The summit, at the University of South Carolina’s Colonial Life Arena, attracted more than 350 attendees. The event was hosted by the university’s Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing.
ICRS 14/RPSD 2022 speaker
Professor Townsend has over four decades of experience researching nuclear interactions of cosmic rays and their implications for space radiation shielding and crew protection and is among the top 1% of cited researchers in the world-wide aerospace science community. He has a BS in Physics from the U.S. Naval Academy, an MS in Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School, and PhD in Physics from the University of Idaho. He served as a nuclear submarine engineer officer (1970-1977). From 1981 - 1995, he was a NASA Research Scientist/Senior Research Scientist. In 1993, he received the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement. In 1995, he retired from NASA and joined the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, retiring in 2017. He is an ANS Fellow, an HPS Fellow, and Associate Fellow of the AIAAA. In 2020 he was elected to membership in the International Academy of Astronautics.
Last modified July 29, 2022, 10:42am PDT
