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
Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
Meeting Spotlight
2021 ANS Winter Meeting and Technology Expo
November 30–December 3, 2021
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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 2021
Jul 2021
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2021
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2021
Latest News
Matthew Denman: On Probabilistic Risk Assessment
Matthew Denman
Probabilistic risk assessment is a systematic methodology for evaluating risks associated with a complex engineered technology such as nuclear energy. PRA risk is defined in terms of possible detrimental outcomes of an activity or action, and as such, risk is characterized by three quantities: what can go wrong, the likelihood of the problem, and the resulting consequences of the problem.
Matthew Denman is principal engineer for reliability engineering at Kairos Power and the chair of the American Nuclear Society and American Society of Mechanical Engineers Joint Committee on Nuclear Risk Management’s Subcommittee of Standards Development. As a college student at the University of Florida, Denman took a course on PRA but didn’t enjoy it, because he did not see its connection to the nuclear power industry. Later, during his Ph.D. study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his advisor was Neil Todreas, a well-known thermal hydraulics expert. Todreas was working on a project with George Apostolakis, who would leave MIT to become a commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The project, “Risk Informing the Design of the Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor,” was a multi-university effort funded through a Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) grant. Todreas and Apostolakis were joined in this project by a who’s who of nuclear academia, including Andy Kadak (MIT, ANS past president [1999–2000]), Mike Driscoll (MIT), Mike Golay (MIT), Mike Lineberry (Idaho State University, former ANS treasurer), Rich Denning (Ohio State University), and Tunc Aldemir (Ohio State University).
ANS is striving to incorporate Navigating Nuclear into school curriculums across America. And we’re providing necessary outreach materials for ANS members – particularly parents and educators – to successfully recommend Navigating Nuclear to their local school districts, administrators and teachers.
Get Involved!
In 2018, ANS set the ambitious goal of ensuring every teacher and student in America has access to fact-based nuclear science and technology resources. Navigating Nuclear: Energizing Our World™, the K-12 nuclear science and energy curriculum created in partnership with Discovery Education and lead funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, was a first step in achieving that goal.
Learn more about Navigating Nuclear
Navigating Nuclear reached more than 1.2 million students in its first two years. Now, the program is going to grade school. Starting in October 2020, Navigating Nuclear’s elementary curriculum will be available at navigatingnuclear.com. In April, a Virtual Field Trip will take students via land, sea, and space to explore applications for nuclear energy and technology.
While Navigating Nuclear’s reach is impressive, we can do more. We’re now empowering local ANS members with the necessary materials to encourage school districts and administrators to incorporate Navigating Nuclear into their K-12 curriculums.
"Navigating Nuclear is an invaluable and engaging tool for teaching nuclear science to K-12 students. Now, we’re expanding Navigating Nuclear’s horizons by focusing our efforts on getting nuclear in every K-12 classroom. This ambitious outreach will certainly have a lasting positive impact on the education of millions of American students – including inspiring future career endeavors in nuclear science, engineering and medicine."
Mary Lou Dunzik-GougarPresident, American Nuclear SocietyAssociate Professor and Dean,Idaho State University College of Science and Engineering
ANS already has several resources for outreach initiatives. Look for more in the coming months.
Last modified August 16, 2021, 1:49pm CDT
