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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
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February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
IAEA project aims to develop polymer irradiation model
The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a new coordinated research project (CRP) aimed at creating a database of polymer-radiation interactions in the next five years with the long-term goal of using the database to enable machine learning–based predictive models.
Radiation-induced modifications are widely applicable across a range of fields including healthcare, agriculture, and environmental applications, and exposure to radiation is a major factor when considering materials used at nuclear power plants.
What is the competition?
The ANS Fusion Energy Division (FED) sponsors a student paper competition at each TOFE that awards monetary prizes for outstanding papers. Undergraduate and graduate authors are judged to the same criteria. Depending on the number of applicants, up to three awards will be given in total, and awarded to either undergraduate or graduate students. The certificate presentation will take place at the TOFE conference.
Who is eligible?
Both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to submit papers to the competition. The student must be the first author of the paper. The student must have already submitted an abstract to the conference as part of the normal TOFE abstract review process.
When is the deadline?
Papers should be emailed to Lauren Garrison (lgarrison@cfs.energy) by midnight on Monday May 19, 2026.
How to submit your paper for the competition?
Students who wish to participate in the competition should submit their full paper to Lauren Garrison (lgarrison@cfs.energy). The paper can be in .docx or .pdf format. The email should include the subject "TOFE student paper competition." The body of the email should state what university the student is enrolled in.
What type of papers are eligible and how to format papers?
Papers submitted to the competition should be the same style and quality as that which would be considered for publication in a peer reviewed journal. Please use the formatting guidelines of Fusion Science and Technology (FS&T) to format your papers. There is no page limit or requirement, but as a rough guideline, papers are often in the range of 5-15 pages. We hope that any students who submit their papers to the competition will also seek to publish their papers in FS&T in the TOFE special issues. For publication in FS&T, the student will need to submit their paper for publication on the normal TOFE publication deadline and through the journal website, which is separate from this competition. After you submit your paper to the TOFE student paper competition, you can revise it or make any desired changes before you submit it to FS&T for publication.
How are papers judged?
The papers will be reviewed by experts in the field of fusion science and technology. A scoring rubric is used to evaluate the quality and clarity of the writing as well as the scientific merit of the research. We are looking for papers where the scientific method of the research is sound, the writing is understandable with correct grammar, and appropriate references of related works are cited.
Do you have additional questions?
Please contact Lauren Garrison (lgarrison@cfs.energy)
Last modified March 2, 2026, 7:34am MST
