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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
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Latest News
Matthew Marzano confirmed as newest NRC commissioner
A nuclear engineer, former reactor operator, and nuclear navy educator earned U.S. Senate approval today to take a seat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Matthew Marzano was confirmed in a 50–45 vote in the Senate and steps into an existing five-year term that will expire June 30, 2028. He joins the five-member commission, which has been without a tiebreaker vote since June 2023, when Jeff Baran’s term expired.
Marzano brings more than a decade of industry experience both working in nuclear plants and advising energy policy on Capitol Hill.
Makoto Ishikawa, Tetsuo Ikegami, Toshio Sanda
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 178 | Number 3 | November 2014 | Pages 335-349
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE14-9
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Under the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) framework, in the cooperative JUPITER program between the United States and Japan, benchmarks are established to study large fast breeder reactor (FBR) core physics utilizing nine Zero Power Plutonium Reactor (ZPPR) critical experimental cores. These benchmarks cover a wide variety of core concepts including homogeneous and heterogeneous configurations, clean and engineering mock-up cores of 600- to 1000-MW(electric)–class sizes, and various core parameters such as criticality, reaction rate, and reactivity. Recently, detailed experimental information from original documents from Argonne National Laboratory has been scrutinized very carefully to establish the benchmark model and to evaluate quantitatively the experimental uncertainty. The benchmarks supply users with heterogeneous cell models and three-dimensional (3-D) core configurations, which are simplified to a degree that preserves the important physical features of the ZPPR cores such as plate heterogeneity, different drawer types, and 3-D core arrangement. Further, the benchmark handbook includes as-built information of the ZPPR cores as a complete set of electronic form; therefore, a user can develop his or her own benchmark model if necessary. The analysis of the benchmark with the deterministic or Monte Carlo method demonstrates its usefulness both for improving analytical methods and for validating nuclear data.