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.
Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting Spotlight
2021 Student Conference
April 8–10, 2021
Virtual Meeting
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2021
Jul 2020
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2021
Nuclear Technology
February 2021
Fusion Science and Technology
January 2021
Latest News
NC State celebrates 70 years of nuclear engineering education
An early picture of the research reactor building on the North Carolina State University campus. The Department of Nuclear Engineering is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its nuclear engineering curriculum in 2020–2021. Photo: North Carolina State University
The Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University has spent the 2020–2021 academic year celebrating the 70th anniversary of its becoming the first U.S. university to establish a nuclear engineering curriculum. It started in 1950, when Clifford Beck, then of Oak Ridge, Tenn., obtained support from NC State’s dean of engineering, Harold Lampe, to build the nation’s first university nuclear reactor and, in conjunction, establish an educational curriculum dedicated to nuclear engineering.
The department, host to the 2021 ANS Virtual Student Conference, scheduled for April 8–10, now features 23 tenure/tenure-track faculty and three research faculty members. “What a journey for the first nuclear engineering curriculum in the nation,” said Kostadin Ivanov, professor and department head.
Francesco Ganda, Jasmina Vujic, Ehud Greenspan, Ka-Ngo Leung
Nuclear Technology | Volume 172 | Number 3 | December 2010 | Pages 302-324
Technical Paper | Radiation Biology and Medicine | dx.doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A10939
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This work assesses the feasibility of using a small, safe, and inexpensive keff 0.98 subcritical fission assembly [subcritical neutron multiplier (SCM)] to amplify the treatment neutron beam intensity attainable from a compact deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion neutron source delivering [approximately]1012 n/s. The objective is to reduce the treatment time for deep-seated brain tumors to [approximately]1 h. The paper describes the optimal SCM design and two optimal beam-shaping assemblies (BSAs) - one designed to maximize the dose rate and the other designed to maximize the total dose that can be delivered to a deep-seated tumor. The neutron beam intensity amplification achieved with the optimized SCM and BSA results in an increase in the treatment dose rate by a factor of 18: from 0.56 Gy/h without the SCM to 10.1 Gy/h. The entire SCM is encased in an aluminum structure. The total amount of 20% enriched uranium required for the SCM is 8.5 kg, and the cost (not including fabrication) is estimated to be less than $60,000. The SCM power level is estimated at 400 W when driven by a 1012 n/s D-D neutron source. This translates into consumption of only [approximately]0.6% of the initially loaded 235U atoms during 50 years of continuous operation and implies that the SCM could operate continuously for the entire lifetime of the facility without refueling. Cooling the SCM does not pose a challenge; it may be accomplished by natural circulation as the maximum heat flux is only 0.034 W/cm2.