In case you haven't already seen all of the tweets, facebook posts and posters, I am thrilled to let you know that next week is National Nuclear Science Week for 2013! For the past two years I've been very lucky to participate as a Steering Committee member for this educational and very fun event, which continues to grow exponentially each year thanks to our fantastic team of nuclear educators.

From July 7 -12, 16 students from around the country came to Washington DC to talk with politicians and policymakers about nuclear engineering education funding, energy policy, and other nuclear issues as part of the 2013 Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation (NESD). This year the delegation was comprised of students with especially diverse backgrounds, including nuclear engineering, chemical engineering, materials science, and nuclear safeguards policy. The chair of the delegation was Matthew Gidden, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying nuclear engineering and energy policy. He was assisted by two co-vice chairs: Mark Reed of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nicholas Thompson of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Get to Know Nuclear

The Opening Plenary at the 2013 ANS Annual Meeting is now underway-and it's amazing how much goes on before the "Opening". Already on Saturday morning a Teachers Workshop was in progress, and Saturday evening the Global Leadership Reception was in full swing. A few select photos:

The 2013 Conference on Nuclear Training and Education took place on February 3-6 in Jacksonville, Florida. More than 300 participants and 26 exhibitors contributed to make this conference a success. Trainers and educators from industry and higher education covered a range of topics, from operator fundamentals to leadership strategies in the nuclear industry.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Get to Know Nuclear

A group of IBM researchers have created the world's smallest movie - starring 130 atoms (well, the oxygen atoms of carbon monoxide molecules).  An atomic-scale must-see!

The American Nuclear Society's Center for Nuclear Science and Technology Information and the ANS Outreach Department will sponsor a full-day teacher workshop on Saturday, June 15, in Atlanta, Georgia. The workshop-Detecting Radiation in Our Radioactive World-is for science educators, including elementary, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, physical science, life science, environmental, and general science teachers. The workshop will be held the day before the beginning of the ANS Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

With Unit 6 returning from a planned maintenance outage earlier this week, all 8 reactors at the world's largest nuclear electrical generating station are now online, generating emission-free electricity from the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, Canada ("Full Power at the Bruce").

The nuclear energy industry is the only large-scale energy producer responsible for managing and storing (and paying for) all the wastes generated by the process [in contrast to, for example... dumping wastes into the atmosphere].

How to avoid information overload on the Internet

When you get right down to it... to many people, nuclear power can seem rather mysterious. Fortunately, this short video takes viewers inside US nuclear power plants and explains the nuts and bolts of how a nuclear plant operates-as told by the people who actually maintain and operate them.

What will be the future influence of women in nuclear science and technology What can be done to encourage more women and girls to enter nuclear science and energy fields-and to stay in the "technical track"? How important are role models?

American Nuclear Society President-elect Donald Hoffman recently visited the ANS Student Section at Chattanooga State Community College. Hoffman thanked the students for their outstanding participation at the recent Department of Energy public hearing on proposed mixed oxide fuel technologies for Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plants, and laid out a vision for the future for ANS, in a presentation before a large audience of 60-70 attendees.

Albert Einstein's famous equation E=mc² explains, of course, why a nuclear power reactor can generate so much electricity in such a relatively tiny space, while using such a relatively tiny amount of fuel. Electricity from other forms of energy, say tidal or wind motion, sunlight, chemical bonds (burning things)... well, nuclear fission and fusion, thanks to E=mc², are definitely in their very own league.

The ANS Nuclear Cafe Matinee presents loyal readers-and loyal viewers-with an all-time great video: "Large Hadron Rap"!

The 14th annual North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN) drawing contest is now underway! The drawing contest teaches 4th and 5th grade students about the wonders of nuclear science and technology by engaging them creatively. This year's theme is Roddy Nuclear Builds Tomorrow-with an emphasis on the importance of new plant construction for the future of nuclear and growing energy demands.

A free college-level internet course surveying the theory, design, and operation of commercial nuclear power reactors is starting soon! This course will be taught by Larry Foulke, PhD, PE, former president of the American Nuclear Society.

From the American Nuclear Society to teachers interested in the nuclear sciences