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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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2021 Student Conference
April 8–10, 2021
Virtual Meeting
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2021
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January 2021
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2020
Latest News
Understanding the ITER Project in the context of global Progress on Fusion
(photo: ITER Project gangway assembly)
The promise of hydrogen fusion as a safe, environmentally friendly, and virtually unlimited source of energy has motivated scientists and engineers for decades. For the general public, the pace of fusion research and development may at times appear to be slow. But for those on the inside, who understand both the technological challenges involved and the transformative impact that fusion can bring to human society in terms of the security of the long-term world energy supply, the extended investment is well worth it.
Failure is not an option.
Payam Vaezi, Christopher Holland
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 74 | Number 1 | July-August 2018 | Pages 77-88
Technical Paper | dx.doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1372987
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Due to the strong nonlinear dependence of plasma turbulence on drive and dissipation mechanisms, uncertainties in experimental inputs can be greatly magnified in simulations of this turbulence. Thus, careful uncertainty quantification (UQ) and its inclusion within validation metrics is an integral part of plasma turbulence validation studies. To minimize the number of simulations required for UQ, we investigate the use of the rapidly converging nonintrusive probabilistic collocation method (PCM) for efficient plasma turbulence UQ. This approach is shown to yield more realistic uncertainty estimates than simple uniform sampling methods for a practical number of nonlinear simulations. The inclusion of UQ above and near critical gradients is discussed. To demonstrate its utility, the advantages of PCM are first illustrated using a simple model of critical gradient turbulence. It is then used on simulations from a validation study of drift-wave turbulence in the CSDX linear plasma device experiment. The advantage of more advanced methods for selecting samples from the uncertainties in the plasma turbulence simulations is also discussed.