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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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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May 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Technical Session|Sponsored by Fusion Energy Division
Wednesday, November 16, 2022|3:15–5:00PM MST|Bougainvillea
Session Chair:
Pierre-Clément A. Simon
Alternate Chair:
Paul P. Wilson
Session Organizer:
Paul W. Humrickhouse
This Fusion session will be preceded by the Technology and Policy Advancements in Nuclear Nonproliferation session, in which three summaries will be presented. Please see below for times for the Fusion presentations.
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Optimization of Simplified Affordable, Robust, Compact Reactor Designs with FERMI
4:15–4:35PM MST
Jack Fletcher (MIT), Jin Whan Bae (ORNL), Arpan Sircar (ORNL), Katarzyna Borowiec (ORNL), Vittorio Badalassi (ORNL)
Paper
Evaluation of Variance Reduction Techniques for Deep Penetrations in Fusion Neutronics Simulations
4:35–4:55PM MST
Andrea A. Saltos (Commonwealth Fusion Systems), Ethan Peterson (MIT), Dominic Napolitano (Commonwealth Fusion Systems), Ryanne Kennedy (MPR Assoc.), Andrew Hodgdon (Commonwealth Fusion Systems)
Multiphysics Code Coupling for Fusion Blankets
4:55–5:15PM MST
Arpan Sircar (ORNL), Katarzyna Borowiec (ORNL), Jin Whan Bae (ORNL), Jerome Solberg (LLNL), Vittorio Badalassi (ORNL)
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