Gale Hauck, engineering project manager at Westinghouse Electric Company, is the new chair of the American Nuclear Society's Young Members Group (YMG). YMG Secretary Elia Merzari caught up with her and asked her to introduce herself, as well as her plans for the YMG.

Mettallic Butterfly ~ photo by: Margaret Harding

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

Idaho National Laboratory's Computer Assisted Virtual Environment (CAVE) at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies allows scientists and engineers to literally walk into their data and examine it.

The question is how big is the bird and will any of the proposed deals fly?

Findings could be significant for other reactors

This past week, I had the privilege of participating in the Nuclear Technology Workshop for Teachers in Charlotte, N.C. The all-day event was part of the International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC)/North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN) Public Information Day, and it had a great turnout-about 50 area science teachers were in attendance.

On Tuesday, August 7, I attended a book tour event sponsored by a New England anti-nuclear group. The event's title that first appeared on the group's website was "Fukushima: Nuclear Power's Gift to the Planet." By the end of the four-state book tour, the title had been changed to match the book, "The Devil's Tango: How I Learned the Fukushima Step by Step" (publisher's website), by Cecile Pineda. As stated during the presentation, the book tour was planned around August 6, the 67th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing in World War II. Pineda's presentation contained all the standard anti-nuke issues, and a few new wrinkles as well.

The 117th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up at Next Big Future

Even before its successful landing earlier this week, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory was already sending back important scientific data-about the radiation exposure that astronauts might face during a mission to the Red Planet.

The American Nuclear Society's Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo wrapped up yesterday in Hollywood, Fla. The annual executive conference is attended by hundreds of professional nuclear operators, vendors, and regulators in a format that promotes the open sharing of ideas.

The July/August issue of Radwaste Solutions is available in hard copy and electronically for subscribers (click "subscribers" link in left column).  This issue features articles on low-level radioactive waste management, in addition to coverage of the technology and policy of high-level radioactive waste management.

I've been fascinated by nuclear batteries-also known as radioisotope thermal generators or RTGs-since I first saw a pacemaker battery in an exhibit at the Maryland Science Museum. As my wife and children will testify, I am one of those slow moving people at museums who insists on reading nearly every placard under every exhibit. I'll never forget my feeling of wonder as I found out that 1/200th of an ounce of plutonium-238 could provide sufficient heat to that tiny battery to make it produce a continuous electrical current sufficient to run a heart pacemaker.

An image sent by NASA's Curiosity rover shortly after landing

The nuclear-powered roving robotic laboratory Curiosity touched down early on August 6, and is beaming back images while undergoing system checks. The Curiosity landing has generated worldwide interest, including interest in its plutonium power source.

Worldwide energy needs will double by 2040.

The 116th Carnival is up at Idaho Samizdat.

Early on Monday morning (1:31AM Eastern Daylight Time), after having traveled 352 million miles, NASA's robotic rover Curiosity is scheduled to touch down inside the Gale Crater on the surface of Mars. Soon after, it will begin looking for clues about possible early forms of Martian life.

The U.S. doesn't want to hear about it

Realizing New Technologies for the Age of Fusion Energy

It's time to make plans to attend the American Nuclear Society's 2012 Winter Meeting and Nuclear Technology Expo, this year held in San Diego, Calif., on November 11-15 at the Town and Country Resort & Conference Center.