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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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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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ANS continues to expand its certificate offerings
It’s almost been a full year since the American Nuclear Society held its inaugural section of Nuclear 101, a comprehensive certificate course on the basics of the nuclear field. Offered at the 2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo, that first sold-out course marked a massive milestone in the Society’s expanding work in professional development and certification.
Troy Howe, Steve Howe, Jack Miller
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 6 | June 2021 | Pages 866-875
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1832814
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The space industry is expanding at an increasing rate. While most efforts are currently focused on Earth and lunar orbits, it is only a matter of time before affordable exploration missions into deep space become more prevalent. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) with large quantities of power have been theorized for such missions with many advantages over traditional solar panels and radioisotope power sources. Key among NEP issues has been the power conversion system, often falling upon dynamic cycles over solid-state options like thermoelectric generators (TEGs) because of low efficiencies. Howe Industries has conceptualized a deep space probe capable of transporting cube satellites (CubeSats) and other payloads to deep space utilizing NEP based on an advanced TEG power conversion system with efficiencies that would challenge traditional dynamic power conversion cycles. Experimentation at a TRIGA research reactor has shown a potential for 20 to 50 times increase in electrical conductivity of potential thermoelectric materials, which would correlate to large increases in efficiencies over traditional TEGs.