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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
General Chair:
Bill Vesely (NASA (retired), USA)
Program Chair:
Carol S. Smidts (Professor, Ohio State University)
Honorary Chair:
Richard Denning (Battelle Energy Institute (Retired), USA)
Publications Chair:
Vaibhav Sinha (The Ohio State University, USA)
Michigan Ohio Section Representative:
John Greenwood (First Energy Corporation , USA)
PSA 2021 Senior Advisory Boards:
Tunc Aldemir (The Ohio State University, USA)
Paul Amico (Jensen Hughes, USA)
Steve Arndt (US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, USA)
Ron Boring (Idaho National Laboratory, USA)
Bob Budnitz (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (retired.), USA)
Matilde D’Arpino (The Ohio State University, USA)
Enrique Droguett (University of Chile, Chile)
Fernando Ferrante (EPRI, USA)
Katrina Groth (University of Maryland at College Park, USA)
Huyn Gook Kang (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA)
Pierre-Etienne Labeau (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)
Ming Li (US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, USA)
Zahra Mohagheh (Zahra Mohagheh, University of Illinois, USA)
Poong Hyun Seong (KAIST (retired), Korea)
Abdollah Shafieedazeh (The Ohio State University, USA)
Curtis Smith (Idaho National Laboratory, USA)
Prabhakar Varde (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India)
Jeffrey Woollard (The Ohio State University, USA)
Local Support and Logistics:
Yunfei Zhao (The Ohio State University, USA)
Timothy DeFranco (The Ohio State University, USA)
Gulcin Sarici Turkmen (The Ohio State University, USA)