A recent American Nuclear Society webinar tackled misconceptions about nuclear waste. Christopher Perfetti, an associate professor of nuclear engineering at the University of New Mexico, presented “The How, Why, and Where of Nuclear Waste,” the latest online event in ANS’s Educator Training series.

Moderated by ANS past president Eric Loewen (2011–12), this presentation was built to be an accessible and informative Nuclear Waste 101 offering as part of the Society’s broader effort to develop a program specifically tailored to educating K-12 teachers.

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The American Nuclear Society’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division recently hosted a webinar on updating material control and accounting (MC&A) and security regulations for the evolving field of advanced reactors.

Moderator Shikha Prasad (CEO, Srijan LLC) was joined by two presenters, John Russell and Lester Towell, who looked at how regulations that were historically developed for traditional light water reactors will apply to the next generation of nuclear technology and what changes need to be made.

Applications are now open for the American Nuclear Society’s newly redesigned mentoring program. Mentor Match is a unique opportunity available only to ANS members that offers year-round mentorship and networking opportunities to Society members at any point in their education.

The deadline to apply for membership in the inaugural summer cohort, which will take place July 1–August 31, is June 20. The application form can be found here.

The American Nuclear Society’s Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship application process is open, and ANS strongly encourages interested members to apply.

ANS Congressional Fellows can directly contribute to the federal policymaking process, working in either a U.S. senator’s or representative’s personal office or with a congressional committee. They are responsible for supplying Congress with their expertise in nuclear science and technology, having a hand in the creation of new laws while gaining a deeper understanding of the legislative process.

American Nuclear Society Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy recently hosted the latest installment of “The State of Nuclear,” the Society’s periodic webinar series that explores current events with an eye toward their impact on the future of nuclear technology and professionals.

In a historic photo, students gather at the Oak Ridge high school in Tennessee. (Photo: DOE)

The Tennessee legislature has approved a $3.2 million proposal to fund a monument that will honor a group of 85 black former students known as the Scarboro–Oak Ridge 85 who, with support from the Atomic Energy Commission, became the first students to enter a previously white-only public school in the southeastern United States.

"We want to make sure that Oak Ridge and the Scarboro 85 get their rightful place in the civil rights history timeline; we do not want to be left out," said John Spratling, chair of the Scarboro 85 Monument Committee.

ANS recognition: The American Nuclear Society officially recognized and honored the Scarboro 85 in 2021 by awarding the group with the inaugural Social Responsibility in the Nuclear Community Award at that year’s Annual Winter Meeting.

Ahead of this year’s Annual Conference, which is taking place June 15–18 in Chicago, the American Nuclear Society is excited to recognize exceptional individuals in the nuclear community. This season’s national award recipients and new Fellows of ANS will receive official recognition during the opening plenary session on Monday, June 16.

Announcements for presidential citations from ANS President Lisa Marshall and the awards presented by the Society’s 19 professional divisions are on the horizon and will also be celebrated at the Annual Conference.

The first Advances in Nuclear Fuel Management (ANFM) conference in eight years is being held July 20–23, 2025, at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, Fla.

The next opportunity to earn professional engineer (PE) licensure in nuclear engineering is this fall. Now is the time to sign up and begin studying with the help of materials like the online module program offered by the American Nuclear Society.

Idaho National Laboratory is looking for a sponsor to invest $5 million–$10 million in a privately funded innovation incubator to support seed-stage start-ups working in nuclear energy, integrated energy systems, cybersecurity, or advanced materials. For their investment, the sponsor gets access to what INL calls “a turnkey source of cutting-edge American innovation.” Not only are technologies supported by the program “substantially de-risked” by going through technical review and development at a national laboratory, but the arrangement “adds credibility, goodwill, and visibility to the private sector sponsor’s investments,” according to INL.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recently approved two new American Nuclear Society standards covering different aspects of nuclear criticality safety (NCS).

The 50th anniversary of the founding of the Latin American Section of the American Nuclear Society is today: April 14, 2025! LAS/ANS was created with the goal of representing the interests of the nuclear professionals of Latin America.

The American Nuclear Society’s 2025 Annual Conference will take place June 15–18 this year in Chicago at the Downtown Marriott. The conference is an opportunity to take part in one of the largest gatherings of nuclear professionals in the country and engage with leaders from across the nuclear science and technology landscape. In addition to an impressive list of government and industry leaders, ANS is also planning several outstanding hot-topic technical sessions and popular plenary speakers.

ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy recently spoke on nuclear power’s potential for answering today’s energy demands as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series at the University of Missouri. He also took part in the ribbon cutting for a large addition to the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR).

The Chicago–Great Lakes Local Section of the American Nuclear Society hosted a presentation at the Society’s headquarters in Westmont, Ill., on developments at the molten salt research reactor at Abilene Christian University’s Nuclear Energy Experimental Testing (NEXT) Lab.

A recording of the full presentation is available on the ANS website at ans.org/webinars.

Applications for the Society’s Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship will be closing soon. Congressional Fellows can directly contribute to the federal policymaking process, working in either a U.S. senator’s or representative’s personal office or with a congressional committee. They will be responsible for supplying Congress with their expertise in nuclear science and technology, having a hand in the creation of new laws while gaining a deeper understanding of the legislative process.

The American Nuclear Society’s Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2025) conference will take place May 4–8 in Huntsville, Ala. Registration for the meeting is now open, and the Huntsville Marriott at the Space & Rocket Center is also taking room reservations for attendees.

The American Nuclear Society’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division recently hosted a webinar on updating material control and accounting (MC&A) and security regulations for the evolving field of advanced reactors.

Go deeper: A recording of the full webinar “Updates on Advanced Nuclear Reactor Security and Material Control and Accounting,” which is available only to ANS members, can be viewed here.

The American Nuclear Society’s online programs continue to provide informative content for the wider nuclear community. Two recent webinars held at the end of January focused on intentional outreach activities and K-12 education: “Equitable Outreach: Now Comes the Hard Part” and “Quest for Gold: Exploring Nuclear Transmutation.”

A recent American Nuclear Society webinar tackled misconceptions about nuclear waste. Christopher Perfetti, an associate professor of nuclear engineering at the University of New Mexico, presented “The How, Why, and Where of Nuclear Waste,” the latest online event in ANS’s Educator Training offerings.