When I was registering for the various events scheduled to take place during the ANS Annual Meeting this past June, I was quite excited to see that one of the three technical tours would be at Exelon's Dresden Nuclear Station, not too far from downtown Chicago where the meeting was taking place. Luckily, I made the cut for attendance and was issued a ticket for the tour when I checked in at the meeting desk.

This year, and especially during these long tomato-filled days of August, I have been thinking a lot about happiness. Actually, I have been thinking even more about unhappiness.

The August 2012 edition of the technical journal Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others.

The 119th weekly Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up at Yes Vermont Yankee

NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission is scheduled for launch early on Thursday morning, August 30. How and why? An ANS Nuclear Cafe double feature matinee:

On Friday, March 11, 2011, one of the largest earthquakes in the recorded history of the world occurred on the east coast of northern Japan. The earthquake generated a major tsunami, causing nearly 20,000 deaths.

The August 2012 issue of Nuclear News is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society members.

February 25-28, 2013 • Albuquerque Marriott, N.M.

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.