President Barack Obama today announced his intent to nominate Allison Macfarlane to be U.S. Nuclear Regulatory (NRC) commissioner and to designate her as NRC chair upon her appointment. Macfarlane is an associate professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University (GMU), a position she has held since 2006. Macfarlane served as a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future from March 2010 to January 2012.

Aris Candris

Aris Candris, Ph.D., senior advisor and a member of the Westinghouse Electric Company Board of Directors, is the recipient of the 2012 Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award. Established in 1972 by the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Smyth Award recognizes outstanding and statesmanlike service in the development and safe management of nuclear energy science. The award commemorates a lifetime's achievement in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Ready for the next leap in your career? Who doesn't like extra letters after their name? Well then, why not get a Professional Engineer license?

On May 21, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Chairman Gregory Jaczko announced that he would resign his position as soon as his successor is confirmed (Jaczko resignation statement). The New York Times in its reporting of the story noted:  "The White House said it would name a successor 'soon,' but it is unlikely that anyone will be confirmed to succeed Dr. Jaczko for many months, ensuring continued turmoil at the deeply divided agency."

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Chairman Gregory Jaczko announced today that he would resign his position as soon as a successor is confirmed. Jaczko has served on the 5-member commission since January 2005 and was named chairman in May 2009. His current term as commissioner was set to expire in June 2013.

The May issue of Nuclear News magazine is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center).  The issue contains the following feature articles:

Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park is a carnival of terrestrial energy

The Carnival is the collective voice of blogs with legendary names which emerge each week to tell the story of nuclear energy.

This week's Nuclear Matinee takes a nostalgic look back to the dawn of the Atomic Age and an exciting new power source: "atomic energy."

The nation continues to chart an independent course

In recent days, a number of articles have been printed that assert that a grave danger exists at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear generating station. These articles claim that this danger exists due to the condition of the spent nuclear fuel at the site and the supposedly shaky condition of its storage and care. Two examples:

Since March 22 of this year, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has been operating via a 20-year license extension granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The State of Vermont has been barred from attempting to shut down the plant by federal court injunctions. Nonetheless, the follies surrounding the plant continue, with all stakeholders participating: the legal system, the legislature, plant supporters, and plant opponents.

The American Nuclear Society today issued the following statement:

ANSI strongly encourages all U.S. delegates to participate in international standardization meetings

The Carnival is up at Atomic Power Review.

Today's matinee is a foreign film feature: an excellent overview of the very basics of nuclear energy.

Many people would like it to be theoretically possible to replace nuclear power with wind power, since the wind is a free resource. The way that I would like to approach the topic is to not discuss the source of power, but to discuss this question from the perspective of "intermittency." Stating the question another way: Can an intermittent source replace a baseload power source for producing electricity? This question has nothing to do with how the electricity is generated, but everything to do with when the electricity is generated.

Okay... Well, the Dalai Lama probably isn't much of a drinker.

Part III: Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

In 2009, the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a "123" agreement, which allowed the transfer of US nuclear technology (e.g., reactors, etc.) to the UAE. As a condition of the agreement, the UAE gave up all rights to enrich uranium or reprocess spent nuclear fuel, now and at any point in the future. Thus, the UAE agreed to give up significant rights that are granted to it as a signee of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The Carnival is up at Yes Vermont Yankee.