ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Sep 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Don’t get boxed in: Entergy CNO Kimberly Cook-Nelson shares her journey
Kimberly Cook-Nelson
For Kimberly Cook-Nelson, the path to the nuclear industry started with a couple of refrigerator boxes and cellophane paper. Her sixth-grade science project was inspired by her father, who worked at Seabrook power station in New Hampshire as a nuclear operator.
“I had two big refrigerator boxes I taped together. I cut the ‘primary operating system’ and the ‘secondary system’ out of them. Then I used different colored cellophane paper to show the pressurized water system versus the steam versus the cold cooling water,” Cook-Nelson said. “My dad got me those little replica pellets that I could pass out to people as they were going by at my science fair.”
Navigating Nuclear Virtual Field Trips take students behind the scenes to some of the most interesting places in the world—or even in this galaxy!
Tour the largest nuclear power plant in the United States. Explore Idaho National Laboratory and meet the men and women discovering solutions to our energy challenges. Or travel into deep space to imagine how humans might live on the moon, Mars, or even farther.
Inspire students to explore the possibilities of nuclear technology on Earth before planning their own colony on the moon. Along the way, students will meet a variety of stellar special guests who share their out-of-this-world experiences. Targeted to grades 3-5, but engaging for all ages.
Set the stage for learning with standards-aligned activities in our companion guide.
Download the Educator Guide
Journey to the leading nuclear research facility in the country, Idaho National Laboratory. Step inside a nuclear reactor, explore unexpected careers in nuclear science and see what the future may hold thanks to advances in nuclear capabilities. Targeted to high school students, this VFT is also appropriate for middle school student career exploration.
Activities in our companion guide encourage students to see themselves in nuclear careers.
Join us as we go behind the scenes at the Palo Verde Generating Station, the largest power plant in the United States. See how nuclear technologies are helping to develop more environmentally-friendly electrical power! Targeted to middle school students, this VFT can also be used to learn how nuclear power plants work in all grade bands.
Prepare your students with our standards-aligned companion activities to extend the learning from the Virtual Field Trip to the classroom. Further your students' interest through in-depth conversation and hands-on activity.
Last modified October 29, 2021, 4:39pm CDT