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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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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.
13th Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control & Human-Machine Interface Technologies (NPIC&HMIT 2023)
Mr. Benner joined the NRC in 1990 as an inspector in Region I before transferring to headquarters where he held progressively responsible positions in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, and the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards including several branch chief positions. He also has worked as a technical assistant for Commissioner Greta Dicus and Chief of Staff for Commissioner Ostendorff. He served as the Deputy Division Director of the Division of Reactor Projects in Region I as part of the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, and as Deputy Director in the Division of Operating Reactor Licensing in NRR before assuming his current permanent role as Director in the Division Engineering and External Hazards in NRR. He acted as NRR Deputy Office Director for Reactor Safety Programs and Corporate Support. Mr. Benner received a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
Last modified May 19, 2023, 9:22am EDT
