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2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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A year in orbit: ISS deployment tests radiation detectors for future space missions
The predawn darkness on a cool Florida night was shattered by the ignition of nine Merlin engines on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The thrust of the engines shook the ground miles away. From a distance, the rocket appeared to slowly rise above the horizon. For the cargo onboard, the launch was anything but gentle, as the ignition of liquid oxygen generated more than 1.5 million pounds of force. After the rocket had been out of sight for several minutes, the booster dramatically returned to Earth with several sonic booms in a captivating show of engineering designed to make space travel less expensive and more sustainable.
International Conference on Physics of Reactors 2022 Plenary SPeaker
ORNL
Dr. David Kropaczek of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is the Deputy Technical Director for the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program and former Director for the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of LWRs (CASL). He joined ORNL in 2018 after having served as CASL Chief Scientist and Duke Energy Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University. Dr. Kropaczek has over 30 years of experience in the field of nuclear energy with a focus on computational methods development in the areas of nuclear fuel cycle optimization, reactor physics and thermal-hydraulics for both PWRs and BWRs. Previous experience included positions in both R&D and leadership within Westinghouse, General Electric, and most recently, Studsvik Scandpower as CEO.
Last modified February 28, 2022, 10:45am EST