ANS Nuclear Cafe

A few months ago, I had the honor of leading a class of future engineering leaders at Iowa State University. The dean, Dr. Jonathan Wickert, occasionally asks alums and others who have done interesting things with their engineering degrees to come in and lead the class in a case study. Events in the Gulf of Mexico that started in April 2010 with the Macondo oil spill provided an excellent opportunity to talk about crisis management and communications, with the added benefit of current technology relevance. This is an area that the nuclear industry also needs to study and understand.

By  Suzanne Hobbs

The January issue of Nuclear News has been published and mailed to American Nuclear Society members, and is available electronically to members. The issue contains a special section on education, training, and workforce issues. Features include:

Vermont's new governor, Peter Shumlin, was inaugurated on January 6, 2011. He ran as the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant's number one enemy, as he stated.

The 34th Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers is now up at Next Big Future.  The carnival features blog posts from the leading U.S. nuclear bloggers and is a roundup of featured content from them.

The U.S. is being left behind in the race for market share

ANS sponsors or cosponsors the following upcoming meetings:

On Monday, January 3, 2011, China Central Television announced that scientists and engineers at the China National Nuclear Corporation's No. 404 Factory, located in the Gobi desert in Gansu province, had demonstrated their mastery of nuclear fuel recycling technology that would allow them to improve fuel utilization by a factor of 60 over the current once-through fuel cycle they are using. This means that a resource base that was projected to last between 50-70 years would now have the potential to last 3000-4200 years. For a country full of people who think in terms of millennia, I assume that this was very good news indeed.

The 33rd Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs: Year-End Edition is up at Yes Vermont Yankee.  The carnival features blog posts from the leading U.S. nuclear bloggers and is a roundup of featured content from them.

Can renewables rescue us?

Part 2 of this article, which appeared here on December 29, made the point (in part) that the nuclear power industry sequesters its nuclear "waste," while other power producing industries do not. This capturing of waste products matters when calculating the external costs of energy technologies.

Where does waste = external costs?

The often-ignored difference maker

The View from Vermont

Let's talk about food irradiation, which has made some in the general public fearful simply because a form of the word "radiation" is involved. Irradiation is used to destroy harmful bacteria and parasites that might be inadvertently present in some food matter. Irradiation makes the food safer for human consumption and, at low levels, it extends food's shelf life and can be used to control insects.

American Nuclear Society scholarship applications for the 2011-2012 academic year are now online! Since ANS was established in 1954, it has promoted the awareness and understanding of nuclear science and technology (NS&T). To further that mission, ANS administers scholarships each year that support the development and education of those who will research and implement future applications of NS&T.

It's not too late to go nuclear for the holidays. PopAtomic Studios, the non-profit organization that is dedicated to arts-integrated outreach in support of nuclear energy, is raising funds to help complete its 501c3 federal tax exemption application. Make a donation to PopAtomic's cause and receive a nuclear-themed gift, for you or to give to a family member or friend.

The 32nd Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs is up at Canadian Energy Issues.  The carnival features blog posts from the leading U.S. nuclear bloggers and is a roundup of featured content from them.

Click here for the National Nuclear Science Week flyer.

The 27th Carnival of Green Business blogs is up at Calfinder's Residential Solar Blog! This week's carnival is a roundup of featured content highlighting news, opinions, and insights on issues of interest to the green business community.

Deal with New Jersey will let it operate for 10 more years without having to build cooling towers