ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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
Jan 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
Executive Session|Panel
Monday, November 14, 2022|3:15–5:00PM MST|Eucalyptus
Session Chair:
Ashley E. Finan (INL)
Session Organizers:
Brad Tomer (Chief Operating Officer – NRIC, INL)
Sanjay Mukhi (Collaboration Manager – NRIC, INL)
The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in August 2019 as a national program led by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), enables collaborators to harness the world class capabilities of the U.S. National Laboratory System to bridge the gap between research, development, and the energy marketplace to help convert some of the Nation’s most promising advanced nuclear concepts into commercial applications by 2030. This session will outline NRIC’s capabilities to support advanced reactor developers to demonstrate their designs and highlight the benefits of digital engineering with our demonstration platforms. There will be two panels during this session that will address 1) Advanced Construction Technologies and how they can be used in advanced nuclear reactor and 2) a Siting Tool for Advanced Nuclear Development, which helps identify and compare possible siting locations inside the continental U.S. for advanced nuclear facilities based on factors related to socioeconomics, proximity, and safety.
ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES:
Moderator: Brad Tomer (INL, NRIC)
Panelists:
Juswald Vedovi (General Electric)
Hasan Charkas (EPRI)
Mark Gake (Black & Veatch)
SITING TOOL FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT:
Moderator: Sanjay Mukhi (INL, NRIC)
Aditi Verma (University of Michigan)
Matt Bucknor (Argonne National Laboratory)
Femi Omitaomu (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
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