The American Nuclear Society is soliciting names of qualified members who are interested in becoming the editor of the ANS journal Nuclear Technology (NT). Dr. Nicholas Tsoulfanidis, Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, has served as editor of NT since June 1997. During his term, Professor Tsoulfanidis has done an outstanding job. He has raised NT's reputation for technical excellence and has kept up a full schedule of publishing monthly issues.

Taxpayers for Common Sense on February 27 issued a press release targeting the Department of Energy for "wasting more than half a billion dollars" on its small modular reactor (SMR) development cost-sharing program. Leaving aside the historically essential role of government investment in developing, advancing, and bringing to market innovative energy technologies-and the fact that early government investments in nuclear energy technology now pay back enormous dividends to all Americans in billions of dollars' worth of affordable and emission-free electricity generation every year-many of the advantages of advanced SMR energy technologies were overlooked or misconstrued in the group's press release and policy brief.

The February 2013 edition of the technical journal Nuclear Technology (NT) is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others.

The American Nuclear Society is soliciting names of qualified members who are interested in becoming the editor of the ANS journal Nuclear Technology (NT). Dr. Nicholas Tsoulfanidis, Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, has served as editor of NT since June 1997. During his term, Professor Tsoulfanidis has done an outstanding job. He has raised NT's reputation for technical excellence and has kept up a full schedule of publishing monthly issues.

The January 2013 issue of ANS's Nuclear Technology journal is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others. Non-subscribers click here to  subscribe to NT and other ANS titles.

Microsoft founder and extraordinary philanthropist Bill Gates is also a nuclear energy enthusiast.

Recent announcements and news stories about a Russian project to build a floating and essentially portable nuclear power plant have been variously tabbed with the heading "new." The idea of a floating, mobile nuclear plant (which is not self-propelled and not a ship) is indeed not new-the nuclear barge STURGIS, itself a converted Liberty Ship, served as a power source for the Panama Canal for many years, beginning back in 1967. The new Russian plants bring extra excitement because they are classed, properly, in the now-popular small modular reactor plant category, having been based on true seagoing designs. This, of course, hints at the fact that their output will not approach that of any of the large, conventional nuclear plants familiar today.

How to avoid information overload on the Internet

The December 2012 issue of ANS's Nuclear Technology journal is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others. Non-subscribers click here to  subscribe to NT and other ANS titles.

The ANS Winter Meeting is focused on progress in nuclear technology. Keep up-to-date year round with the ANS technical journal Nuclear Technology (NT).  The November 2012 edition is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others. Non-subscribers click here to  subscribe to NT and other ANS titles.

Recently, Dr. Nicole Stricker of the Idaho National Laboratory sent a link for the following video to members of the ANS Social Media list.

The October 2012 issue of the technical journal Nuclear Technology is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others.  Non-subscribers click here to learn how to subscribe to NT and other ANS titles.

The latest American Nuclear Society board-approved Position Statement (PS83) is titled "U.S. Global Nuclear Leadership Through Export-Driven Engagement." This statement highlights a paradigm shift that is occurring within ANS, as global macroeconomic issues force the recognition that clean energy is imperative for continued global development.

The American Nuclear Society will welcome delegates from around the world to Chicago in August 2014 for the 8th International Conference on Isotopes (8ICI).

The September 2012 edition of the technical journal Nuclear Technology is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others.

Findings could be significant for other reactors

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.

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.

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.

The American Nuclear Society's Annual Conference, to be held June 24-28 in Chicago, Ill., will feature an embedded International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2012), ANS President Eric Loewen announced. "This international conference brings together nuclear leaders from around the world to share best practices and advance international understanding of the latest advances in nuclear power plants," said Loewen.