400 words?!?

July 15, 2020, 3:34PMNuclear NewsMary Lou Dunzik-Gougar

Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar

Originally published in the July 2020 issue of Nuclear News.

It’s my first column as ANS president and I’m limited to 400 words? Well, it turns out you can say a lot with a little. Take, for example, “Shelter in place,” and “Say their names.” These phrases have been at the forefront of our consciousness in recent months, and each invokes a host of emotions and mental images. What should the ANS catchphrase be? “Into the Nuclear Future”? “Just Nuke It”? “Nuclear, it keeps going . . . and going . . . and going . . . ”? How about, “Nuclear: The choice of a new generation”?

Nominations needed for the 2021 ANS election

May 29, 2020, 10:39AMUpdated July 9, 2020, 9:31AMANS News

Each year, ANS leaders are nominated and elected from among the dedicated nuclear technology professionals that make up the Society’s membership. Now is your chance to nominate candidates to run in the 2021 ANS national election for the offices of vice president/president-elect and treasurer and for five positions on the ANS Board of Directors. All terms will begin in June 2021.

ANS joins Equal by 30 campaign

July 1, 2020, 3:02PMANS News

Achieving gender equality in the clean energy sector by 2030 is the goal of Equal by 30, a campaign of the Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment (C3E) initiative. ANS joined the campaign on June 25 and is now one of nearly 150 public and private sector organizations committed to taking concrete action toward achieving equal pay, equal leadership, and equal opportunities for women in the clean energy sector by 2030.

Piercy discusses wide-ranging topics on Titans of Nuclear podcast

June 19, 2020, 3:42PMANS News

ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy was a recent guest on the Titans of Nuclear podcast, hosted by Bret Kugelmass. The podcasts feature interviews with experts throughout the nuclear community, covering advanced technology, economics, policy, industry, and more.

The wide-ranging discussion with Piercy tackled diverse subjects—from his Washington, D.C., policymaking background, to ANS’s role in addressing challenging nuclear issues, to waste management and climate change.

Dunzik-Gougar leads as new ANS president

June 11, 2020, 2:06PMANS News

Dunzik-Gougar

Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar is the 66th president of the American Nuclear Society. On June 11, during a meeting of the Board of Directors that—like the rest of the 2020 ANS Annual Meeting—was held virtually, the duties of president were officially transferred from Marilyn Kray to Dunzik-Gougar, who will serve a one-year term as president. Kray will remain on the Board of Directors for one year as immediate past president.

ANS Executive Committee releases statement on recent killings of unarmed African Americans and systemic racism

June 5, 2020, 4:33PMANS Executive CommitteeANS Executive Committee

The American Nuclear Society has issued a statement on the recent events around the country. The full statement can be viewed below.


Statement from the American Nuclear Society Executive Committee on recent killings of unarmed African Americans and systemic racism

On behalf of the American Nuclear Society, we express our deep sadness over the death of George Floyd and other unarmed African Americans. These events have laid bare the deep racial wounds and divisions which still exist in our society today, including those within our own community of nuclear professionals.

ANS backs NRC rulemaking on spent fuel reprocessing

June 1, 2020, 5:07PMANS News

Piercy

Nesbit

ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on May 28 urging the agency to resume work on a proposed rulemaking to allow spent fuel reprocessing in the United States. As the letter explains, “the lack of an efficient, technically robust, and technology-inclusive regulatory foundation for reprocessing and recycling is a barrier to innovation.”

Steve Nesbit, who was recently elected ANS’s next vice president/president-elect, chairs the ANS Nuclear Waste Policy Task Force and helped develop the letter. ANS News staff talked with Nesbit about the development and goals of ANS’s participation in the NRC’s rulemaking process.

Making the best of the "new normal"

May 19, 2020, 12:58PMANS NewsCraig Piercy

Craig Piercy


Dear ANS Members,

In the midst of a global pandemic, it feels insufficient somehow to begin a letter with the oft-used expression of hope that it “finds you well.” We are all affected by COVID-19 in some way that makes us less “well” in our lives, whether caused by the virus itself or the socioeconomic ramifications of our response to it. Perhaps it is more realistic for me to hope that you and your family are healthy, generally well-provisioned, and gainfully occupied as we all, collectively and individually, find a way to make the best of our “new normal.”

Staying positive

May 18, 2020, 12:47PMANS NewsMarilyn Kray

Marilyn Kray

What can be said that hasn’t already been said about these “uncertain times”? There are numerous mottos and catchphrases out there. I choose to follow this one: “Stay home. Stay positive.”

I’ve been staying home, which is quite a change for me since I spent over half of the first two months of 2020 traveling. It all came to a screeching halt in early March. Working remotely is not that different for me, as I’m used to working in hotels and on planes. The biggest difference is that when my husband walks by and I order a Diet Coke and extra pretzels, he doesn’t respond like an American Airlines flight attendant!

ANS elections: Nesbit named VP/president-elect, Board seats filled

April 24, 2020, 4:46PMEdited May 1, 2020, 2:59PMANS News

Nesbit

All the votes are counted and Steven P. Nesbit, an ANS member since 1989, has been elected the next ANS vice president/president-elect. Five candidates were elected to serve three-year terms as at-large members of the Board of Directors. The new VP/president-elect and directors will begin their terms on June 11 during the 2020 ANS Annual Meeting, which is being conducted online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New ANS professional division officers and executive committee members named

April 24, 2020, 4:46PMANS News

Listed below are the ANS professional divisions’ 2020–2021 officers and newly elected executive committee members. All terms begin during the ANS Annual Meeting in June. (Executive committee members whose three-year terms are continuing are not included.)

More information about ANS’s 19 professional divisions and two working groups is available by clicking the link.

ANS submits testimony to Congress on FY 2021 nuclear energy programs

April 2, 2020, 9:37AMANS News

ANS Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Craig Piercy has submitted testimony on the administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2021 Department of Energy budget to the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees on Energy and Water Development, urging congressional appropriators to increase funding for nuclear-related programs. The testimony was submitted on March 31.

Sustainability and impact

March 13, 2020, 3:05PMANS NewsCraig Piercy

Dear ANS members,

As you know, the staff and I are in the midst of implementing a significant overhaul of ANS operations, as guided by the letter and spirit of ANS Change Plan 2020.

We are off to a good start. We have changed the ANS organization chart to knock down silos and bring fresh leadership to our Publications and Digital Technology Departments. We have embarked on a major overhaul of our IT infrastructure to leverage the advantages of cloud computing and significantly improve our cybersecurity posture. Our first visible improvement will be a modernized ANS website, scheduled to go live for members and the general public in a matter of weeks, followed by digital access to Nuclear News and related content this summer.

OSU students celebrate the past and set a new course

March 11, 2020, 2:51PMANS News

OSU Student Section Faculty Advisor Samuel Briggs accepted a certificate from ANS President Marilyn Kray (foreground). From left to right, section officers pictured are Matthew Hageman, Andrew Ritacco, Brandon Kamiyama, Taighlor Story, Lucia Gomez-Hurtado, Elizabeth Jurgensen, Maren Arneson, and Stephanie Juarez.

The ANS Oregon State University (OSU) Student Section hosted a 50th anniversary celebration on March 3 with ANS President Marilyn Kray as their guest.

“The officers did an amazing job and deserve all the credit for organizing a very successful 50th anniversary event,” said Samuel Briggs, an assistant professor in OSU’s School of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) and the student section’s faculty advisor.

Following a dinner that featured a slideshow of historic OSU photos, students had a chance to pose questions to an expert panel. Kray took part in the panel together with NSE Emeritus Professor and ANS Past President Andrew Klein (2016–2017), NSE School Head and Professor Kathy Higley, and NSE Associate School Head and Professor Wade Marcum. They were asked about future obstacles and prospects for the nuclear industry, public outreach and advocacy, and nuclear engineering career development. “Local members asked some great questions of the panel—even I learned something!” Briggs said.

ANS backs Fukushima Daiichi treated water discharge plans

March 6, 2020, 12:44PMANS News

ANS President Marilyn Kray has expressed support for the continued recovery operations at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which sustained damage in the aftermath of a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Kray sent a letter on March 3 to Hiroshi Kajiyama, head of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), about the work of the ministry’s Subcommittee on Handling of the ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) Treated Water and the findings of a February 2020 subcommittee report.