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
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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
May 2025
Jan 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Technical Session
Wednesday, May 11, 2022|10:30AM–12:30PM EDT|Vanda
Session Chair:
Emily Jane Watkinson (University of Leicester)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Scott Wilson (NASA)
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Design and Development of the ESA Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator
Ramy Mesalam (Univ. Leicester), Richard Ambrosi (Univ. Leicester), Alessandra Barco (Univ. Leicester), Emily Jane Watkinson (Univ. Leicester), Hugo Williams (Univ. Leicester), Tony Crawford (Univ. Leicester), Christopher Bicknell (Univ. Leicester), Keith Stephenson (European Space Agency)
Paper
Sunpower Robust Stirling Converter (SRSC) Phase III Overview
John Stanley (Sunpower), Josh Collins (Sunpower), Gary Wood (Sunpower)
Turbo-Brayton Converter for Radioisotope Power Systems
Jeffrey J. Breedlove (Creare), Thomas M. Conboy (Creare), Mark V. Zagarola (Creare)
Maturation of Dynamic Power Convertors for RPS Robotic Space Exploration
Scott Wilson (NASA Glenn Research Center), Nicholas Schifer (NASA Glenn Research Center), Daniel Goodell (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Comparative Analysis of Thermal Conversion Technologies for Deep Space Missions
Parisa M. Mirdamadi (Universities Space Research Foundation), Sabah K. Bux (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Laura J. Evans (NASA Glenn Research Center)
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