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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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
The progress so far: An update on the Reactor Pilot Program
It has been about three months since the Department of Energy named 10 companies for its new Reactor Pilot Program, which maps out how the DOE would meet the goal announced by executive order in May of having three reactors achieve criticality by July 4, 2026.
Robert Bentley, Geno Santistevan, Douglas Wells, Andrew Hutton, Adam Stavola, Steve Benson, Kevin Jordan, Joe Gubeli, Pavel Degtiarenko, Lila Dabill
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 198 | Number 1 | January 2024 | Pages 158-166
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2180265
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This research explored the development of the photonuclear production method of Cu from Ga as well as Sc from V. Both products serve as high-demand research medical radioisotopes. Furthermore, an understanding of these reactions is significant to fundamental nuclear physics and astrophysics. Bremsstrahlung flux was induced by an electron linac and a 1-mm tungsten radiator. Irradiation of gallium oxide powder, 98.78% pure Ga, and a natural vanadium foil at 30.9 MeV and 100 W for 1 h produced 64.4 ± 0.4 Bq/W·s·kg of Cu and 164 ± 3.1 Bq/W·s·kg of Sc. A secondary irradiation with 99.6% pure Ga and natural vanadium at 31.5 MeV and 100 W for 1.1 h produced 79.8 ± 0.9 Bq/W·s·kg of Cu and 136 ± 7.2 Bq/W·s·kg of Sc. The photoinduced activation is promising; however, further research into optimal geometry and power is required to maximize specific activity. Natural nickel was also irradiated to serve as a benchmark comparison. Effective cross sections for each reaction were inferred.