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
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
R. Dubey, Gokuldas H., K. Czerski, M. Kaczmarski, A. Kowalska, N. Targosz-Ślęczka, S. Thulichery, M. Valat
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 82 | Number 3 | April 2026 | Pages 572-585
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2025.2520724
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the study of very low-energy fusion reactions, where the cross section drops by many orders of magnitude, measuring the fusion products with minimal uncertainties and free from natural background interference is quite challenging. The present work focuses on qualitative and quantitative assessment of NE113 plastic scintillators, NE213 liquid scintillators, and NaI(Tl) detectors for such studies. All scintillator detectors are calibrated using standard gamma sources , , and and are compared with Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations. A gamma spectrum and neutron unfolding procedure is developed for these detectors with the help of these simulations. To verify this method, an experiment was performed to measure the fusion products from deuteron-deuteron fusion reactions induced by a 10-keV beam on a Zr metallic hydride environment. The results show that the NE113, NE213, and NaI(Tl) scintillator detectors, along with the developed gamma spectrum unfolding procedure, can qualitatively analyze complex gamma spectra with reasonable accuracy.