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Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2025)
May 4–8, 2025
Huntsville, AL|Huntsville Marriott and the Space & Rocket Center
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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May 2025
Latest News
Delivering new nuclear on time, the first time
Mark Rinehart
The nuclear industry is entering a period of renewed urgency, driven by the need for stable baseload power, heightened energy security concerns, and expanded defense infrastructure. Now more than ever, we must deliver new nuclear projects on time and on budget to maintain public trust and industry momentum.
The importance of execution certainty cannot be overstated—public trust, industry investment, and future deployment all hinge on our ability to deliver these projects successfully. However, history has shown that cost overruns and schedule delays have eroded confidence in the industry’s ability to deliver nuclear construction. As we embark on many first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactor builds, fuel cycle infrastructure projects, and extensive defense-related nuclear projects, we must ensure that execution certainty is no longer an aspiration—it is an expectation.
S. Balme, Y. Buravand, P. Fejoz, F. Leroux, P. Pastor, N. Ravenel, P. Spuig
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 3 | October 2009 | Pages 1273-1283
Technical Papers | Tore Supra Special Issue | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A9177
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The tokamak Tore Supra was initially designed to operate long pulses, though the control and data acquisition systems nevertheless had to be upgraded to effectively perform these long-duration pulses. Continuous data acquisition was required for controlling the thermal phenomena, and huge amounts of data had to be handled, especially with the development of video imaging for the safety of the actively cooled vessel. A distributed architecture had to be developed so that real-time feedback could be implemented to ensure safe operation and to optimize the long-duration plasma performance. This paper briefly describes the initial control and data acquisition system and then reviews the developments and enhancements that were made to perform long pulses in Tore Supra.
