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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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
Senate EPW Committee to hold Nieh nomination hearing
Nieh
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a nomination hearing Wednesday for Ho Nieh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as commission at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Trump nominated Nieh on July 30 to serve as NRC commissioner the remainder of a term that will expire June 30, 2029, as Nuclear NewsWire previously reported.
Nieh has been vice president of regulatory affairs at Southern Nuclear since 2021, though since June 2024 he has been at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations as a loaned executive.
A return to the NRC: If confirmed by the Senate, Nieh would be returning to the NRC after three previous stints totaling nearly 20 years.
Aditi Verma, Todd Allen
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 9 | September 2024 | Pages 1722-1739
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2336355
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale was initially developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the 1970s and is now widely used in space, nuclear, and other complex technology sectors in the United States and beyond. The TRL scale is particularly useful for determining where the extrapolation of untested subsystems or features could produce technical risk, cause expensive redesigns, or act as a roadblock to technology development. In this paper, we propose the development of a sociotechnical readiness level or SRL, premised on the understanding that the successful development and eventual use of a technology requires achieving not only full technological readiness but also anticipating, prioritizing, and addressing societal concerns that may arise during the course of development of a technology. Failures to anticipate and address societal factors in the early stages of technology development have led to high-profile delays, and in some cases, ultimate failures of nuclear technology projects. The sociotechnical readiness scale, which conceptually draws on the design research and science and technology studies scholarship, centers on the principles of equity and environmental justice in technology design and emphasizes the need for social engagement during the process of technology development. Nowhere is such an approach to technology development more vital or needed than for the long-term management of spent nuclear fuel.