Nuclear 101 Certificate Course

About the Course

Are you a new professional in the nuclear industry? Are you an executive who needs to strengthen your nuclear background? Are you interested in knowing how your work is linked with nuclear energy and engineering?

This course is designed for you!

The Nuclear 101 course is your opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the essentials of nuclear energy and engineering from the field’s leading experts and instructors. The 5-day course provides 32 hours of learning and covers a broad range of nuclear science and technology topics.

Class sizes are limited to increase the student-to-teacher ratio and facilitate an interactive and engaging environment that will maximize your experience. Following the completion of the course, which includes a final exam, you will be awarded an ANS Nuclear 101 Course Certificate of Completion or Participation and 32 professional development hours.

About the Instructors and Course Developers

Steven Arndt: Steven is an internationally recognized expert in the field of nuclear engineering with experience in nuclear power plant simulation, severe accident analysis and nuclear power plant instrumentation and control. In his 40 years in the nuclear industry Arndt has worked as a researcher, educator, consultant, and regulator including extensive experience in Russia and Ukraine leading the United States support programs to the states of the former Soviet Union following the Chernobyl accident and as part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) response to the Fukushima accident. He currently serves as a Distinguished Scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory where his research involves advance reactor design readiness. Previously he spent 31 years as a senior level scientist with the NRC, leading a number of key research efforts and providing authoritative advice to NRC management and staff in the areas of digital instrumentation and control, software reliability, emergency response, cyber security and numerous other technical areas.

Steven Biegalski: Steve is Chair of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics at Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned his B.S., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Maryland, the University of Florida, and the University of Illinois, respectively. Steve's contributions to the field are evident through his publications, including over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 3 book chapters. He holds his Professional Engineering license in nuclear engineering and a joint faculty appointment at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His research focus is on nuclear reactor operations, advanced nuclear reactor design, and nuclear analytical methods. Steve's accomplishments have recently been recognized via the 2024 ANS American Nuclear Society Radiation Science and Technology Award and the 2025 Hevesy Medal (HMA-2025).

Sunil Chirayath: Sunil is a Distinguished R&D Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Prior to joining ORNL in January 2024, he held positions from postdoctoral fellow to tenured full professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University during 2007-2024. He is a nuclear security and nonproliferation specialist with over 17 years of educational and research experience nuclear science and engineering. He has additional 16 years of work experience in India as a nuclear safety regulator. He has taught courses and conducted workshops on nuclear fuel cycles and nuclear safeguards, Monte Carlo radiation transport, nuclear nonproliferation and arms control, physical protection system design, and human reliability program. Chirayath received his PhD in Physics from University of Madras in 2005, MSc and BSc in Physics from University of Calicut in 1994 and 1989, respectively.

Candace Davison: Candace is former Assistant Director for Education & Outreach and Coordinator of the Gamma Irradiation Facility at the Radiation Science and Engineering Center, College of Engineering, Penn State University. She is the first woman licensed as a Senior Reactor Operator on the Penn State TRIGA Mark III Reactor (1990-2022) and holds a M Eng in Environmental Engineering from The Penn State University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Grove City College. Candace has developed and conducted courses and workshops for professionals, educators and students of all ages. She has worked with government agencies, professional societies and many organizations, including the Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the American Nuclear Society (ANS). Her nuclear career spans over 35 years in various aspects of energy, radiation and applications of nuclear science and technology. She is Past Chair of the Public Information Committee (now Communications Committee) of the American Nuclear Society and recipient of the Landis Public Communication and Education Award in 2012.

Shaheen Azim Dewji: Shaheen is an Associate Professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow in the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics Programs at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She directs the Radiological Engineering, Detection, and Dosimetry (RED²) Laboratory, where her research portfolio spans internal dosimetry, external dose modeling, and consequence assessment for radiological and nuclear exposures. Her work integrates Monte Carlo radiation transport, computational fluid and particle dynamics, and AI-enhanced modeling to support radiation risk assessment across occupational, medical, environmental, and emergency response contexts. She also leads efforts in source-term reconstruction, intake assessment, and decision support tool development, applying AI for uncertainty quantification, inverse modeling, and multi-scale data integration. Shaheen previously served as a Radiological Scientist and Nondestructive Assay Engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and as faculty in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University. She is a member of the National Academies Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (PAC-6), and the International Commission on Radiological Protection Committee 4’s Task Group 127 and Working Party on Artificial Intelligence in Radiation Protection. Her work contributes to advancing both the technical foundations and operational applications of AI in radiation protection, with current projects spanning nuclear power safeguards, radiological triage and biodosimetry, advanced reactor consequence modeling, and regulatory science.

Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar: Mary Lou is Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Associate Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Idaho State University. Also at ISU, she is a licensed senior reactor operator for their AGN-201 reactor. She has a PhD in nuclear engineering and MS in environmental engineering from Penn State University and a BS in chemistry from Cedar Crest College. Her nuclear career spans ~25 years, during which she has performed research in various aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, including waste form development, spent fuel pyroprocessing, spent TRISO particle fuel qualification for disposal, fuel and material development and characterization (pre- and post-irradiation), development of a waste minimization plan for a next generation nuclear reactor design, and fuel cycle modeling. Mary Lou’s research has led to national and international collaborations, including a year-long position with PBMR Ltd in South Africa and a consulting contract with EDF energy of France. She has served as consultant/ subject matter expert for subsequent projects coordinated by the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Walid Metwally: Walid obtained his BSc and MSc in Nuclear Engineering from Alexandria University, Egypt, in 1992 and 1997. In 1998 he joined the Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University as a PhD student. He remained there until completing his doctorate. After completing his doctorate, he served as a Research Associate until 2003. Metwally also holds a Master of Science in Operations Research and a Masters degree in Business Administration. Walid worked at the Atomic Energy Authority in Egypt, NC State University, United Arab Emirates University, and Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) in Wilmington, NC. In 2012, Walid joined the University of Sharjah, UAE, where he founded and chaired the Nuclear Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs and also served as the vice dean of the College of Engineering. He currently serves as the Lead for the Nuclear Criticality Safety Group in the Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His expertise is concentrated in the fields of criticality analysis of nuclear fuel storage, radiation transport modeling, and radiation detection and measurement.

Mark Schanfein: Mark has over 40 years’ experience in nonproliferation and safeguards including a 20-year career at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the weapons program as a facility operator in the plutonium facility and a program manager for nonproliferation programs. He served as a technical expert on the ground in the Russian Federation after the collapse of the USSR performing security assessments and in the DPRK during the disablement activities resulting from the 6-Party Talks under the Bush administration. He has previously worked for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and oversight at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Mark has eight years of experience working at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, four years as a safeguards inspector and 4 years as the Unit Head for Unattended Monitoring Systems (UMS), responsible for the installation of all IAEA unattended autonomous systems in nuclear fuel cycle facilities worldwide. He supports multiple safeguards training programs. His current focus at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is on emerging technologies for applications in international safeguards with a current interest in digital twins, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Mark is currently the Immediate Past President for the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management.

Zachary Van Horn: Zach is Senior Reactor Operator & Research Engineer at the Breazeale Reactor at Penn State University and K12+ Education Specialist and Outreach Coordinator. He holds a B.S. Nuclear Engineering/M.Eng. Engineering, Law, & Policy.

Questions?

For more information about the Nuclear 101 course and other professional development programs, please contact Dan Goldberg, ANS Director of Programs.

Coming Next Year: Nuclear 101 Online Course

Stay tuned for the online version of Nuclear 101 launching in 2026. Sign up below to be notified for more course updates.