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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2026
Nuclear Technology
December 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
AI at work: Southern Nuclear’s adoption of Copilot agents drives fleet forward
Southern Nuclear is leading the charge in artificial intelligence integration, with employee-developed applications driving efficiencies in maintenance, operations, safety, and performance.
The tools span all roles within the company, with thousands of documented uses throughout the fleet, including improved maintenance efficiency, risk awareness in maintenance activities, and better-informed decision-making. The data-intensive process of preparing for and executing maintenance operations is streamlined by leveraging AI to put the right information at the fingertips for maintenance leaders, planners, schedulers, engineers, and technicians.
K. Dale, N. Vargas, A. Jara, E. Marin, G. Lovelace, N. Langley, J. Williams, T. Reuter, C. Kong, C. Monton, N. Alexander, M. Farrell, W. Sweet
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 79 | Number 7 | October 2023 | Pages 870-878
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2169547
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Boron-doped nanowires have promising applications in inertial confinement fusion. Developing an effective fabrication method for boron-doped nanowires is necessary for further investigation into their use as targets. In this paper, we examine a fabrication method that maximizes wire length and boron composition while minimizing fabrication time. Two boron-containing nanoparticles—pure boron and boron nitride nanoparticles—were used as dopants for two possible wire materials: General Atomics–Carbon-Hydrogen (GA-CH) aerogel and carbon-hydrogen (CH) polymer. Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates were used to imprint the materials with nanowires. This study used a five-step fabrication process: (1) synthesis of boron or boron nitride–doped CH material (polymer and aerogel), (2) heat pressing of the doped material into the AAO template, (3) etching away the AAO template, (4) solvent exchanging, and (5) drying. Various boron compositions (in atomic percent), heat pressing temperatures, and heat pressing injection depths were tested to determine the best conditions for wire fabrication. Data collected using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy mapping demonstrated that the most successful wires were the boron nitride–doped CH polymer nanowires (7.33 at. % boron) at an injection depth of 0.3960 mm. However, the aerogel material has a greater ability than polymer to disperse the boron nitride nanoparticles, making it more ideal for nanowires. Although the boron nitride–doped aerogel nanowires were unsuccessful, the findings of this study provide promising guidance for future aerogel nanowire fabrication.