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2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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What’s the most difficult question you’ve been asked as a maintenance instructor?
Blye Widmar
"Where are the prints?!"
This was the final question in an onslaught of verbal feedback, comments, and critiques I received from my students back in 2019. I had two years of instructor experience and was teaching a class that had been meticulously rehearsed in preparation for an accreditation visit. I knew the training material well and transferred that knowledge effectively enough for all the students to pass the class. As we wrapped up, I asked the students how they felt about my first big system-level class, and they did not hold back.
“Why was the exam from memory when we don’t work from memory in the plant?” “Why didn’t we refer to the vendor documents?” “Why didn’t we practice more on the mock-up?” And so on.
Masayoshi Sugimoto, Alan B. Smith, Peter T. Guenther
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 97 | Number 3 | November 1987 | Pages 235-238
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE87-A23505
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The prompt fission neutron spectrum resulting from 239Pu fission induced by ∼0.55-MeV incident neutrons is measured from 1.0 to 10.0 MeV relative to that of 235U fission induced by the same incident energy neutrons. The measurements employ the time-of-flight technique. Energy-dependent ratios of the two spectra are deduced from the measured values. The experimentally derived ratio results are compared with those calculated from ENDF/B-V (revision 2) and with results of recent microscopic measurements. Using the ENDF/B-V 235U Watt parameters for the 235U spectrum, the experimental measurements imply a ratio of average fission spectrum energies of 239Pu/235U = 1.045 ± 0.003, compared to the value 1.046 calculated from ENDF/B-V (revision 2).
