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Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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!
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Latest News
Sam Altman steps down as Oklo board chair
Advanced nuclear company Oklo Inc. has new leadership for its board of directors as billionaire Sam Altman is stepping down from the position he has held since 2015. The move is meant to open new partnership opportunities with OpenAI, where Altman is CEO, and other artificial intelligence companies.
O. Stein, Y. Liu, J. Streit, J. H. Campbell, Y. F. Lu, Y. Aglitskiy, N. Petta
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 73 | Number 2 | March 2018 | Pages 153-165
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1406237
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Low-density foam targets were fabricated by direct laser writing using two-photon polymerization (2PP). The targets were used in high-energy-density shock-propagation experiments carried out on the NIKE laser system at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The basic target comprised a rectilinear foam rod with a log-pile-like microstructure with overall dimensions of 2000 × 250 × 315 μm3 and a nominal density of ~100 mg/cm3. The foam block is topped with a 15-μm-thick, full-density ablation layer that is integrated into the 2PP printing process. The main challenge in fabricating the foam targets comes in maintaining dimensional and structural stability during 2PP postprocessing particularly during development, drying, and release from the substrate. Twelve 2PP foam rods were characterized and then built into targets. The characterization data show shrinkage of ~5% to 15% in overall dimensions attributed mainly to shrinkage of the acrylic resin (IP-Dip). Continuing development shows that use of the more stable IP-S commercial resin leads to significantly improved foam structure stability, reduced shrinkage, and a lower number of inherently weak stitching boundaries. The 12 targets provided to NRL have been shot; an example of the type of data obtained is presented.