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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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!
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Jun 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Zaporizhzhia ‘extremely fragile’ relying on single off-site power line, IAEA warns
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has just one remaining power line for essential nuclear safety and security functions, compared with its original 10 functional lines before the military conflict with Russia, warned Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
2020 ANS Virtual Winter Meeting Plenary Session Speaker
Dr. Peter B. Lyons retired from the Department of Energy on June 30, 2015. He now consults on several corporate and laboratory boards, as well as assisting several international groups. He was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy on April 14, 2011 after serving as Acting Assistant Secretary since November 2010. Dr. Lyons was appointed to his previous role as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy in September 2009. Before joining DOE, Dr. Lyons was appointed by President Bush as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, starting on January 25, 2005. He was subsequently nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. His NRC term ended on June 30, 2009.
Previously, Dr. Lyons served as Science Advisor to U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from 1997 to 2005. From 1969 to 2003, Dr. Lyons worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he served on assignment to Senator Domenici and as Director for Industrial Partnerships, Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Environment, Deputy Associate Director for Defense Research and Applications and Group Leader for Fast Plasma Diagnostics. While at Los Alamos, he spent over a decade supporting nuclear test and laser fusion diagnostics.
Dr. Lyons has presented more than 400 papers or talks on a wide range of technical and policy topics in addition to testifying before the U.S. Congress on many occasions. He holds four patents related to fiber optics and plasma diagnostics and served as chairman of the NATO Nuclear Effects Task Group for five years. He received his doctorate in nuclear astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 1969 and earned his undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Arizona in 1964. Dr. Lyons is a Fellow of both the American Nuclear Society and the American Physical Society; received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal from the American Nuclear Society, the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award from the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Alvin M. Weinberg Medal from the American Nuclear Society, the James Landis Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nuclear Infrastructure Council; and was elected to 16 years on the Los Alamos School Board.
Dr. Lyons grew up in Nevada and is now a resident of Golden, Colorado.
Last modified October 21, 2020, 10:52am EDT