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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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July 2025
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Latest News
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Janne S. Peltonen, Mohamed A. Mahmoud (Fennovoima Oy), Timo Latvala (Space Systems Finland Ltd.), Kauko Leiviskä (Univ of Oulu)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1122-1134
Nuclear qualification of automation (i.e. instrumentation and control systems) has presented a significant challenge for new build and modernization projects during this millennium. Nuclear qualification requirements and differences in national qualification approaches represent a significant commercial risk for potential instrumentation and control (I&C) system suppliers. In particular, compliance with regulatory requirements in one national regulatory environment does not directly allow cross acceptance in another regulatory environment. In this paper, a more holistic approach to nuclear qualification processes is proposed to better understand the concept of qualified automation for nuclear power plants. A lifecycle-based conceptual framework for the nuclear qualification of automation is presented in order to facilitate re-use of qualified engineering artefacts. The proposed conceptual framework is intended for management of differences in national regulations and to allow early identification of gaps and potentially overlapping activities. Recognized international standards and related studies related to qualification are identified and the means to develop a normative basis for nuclear qualification are discussed. Furthermore, a functional approach to qualification is proposed based on a universal concept of functional safety (as defined in IEC 61508 standard) and nuclear sector’s functional defense in depth concept. Top-down requirements specification and qualification processes are suggested to improve the effectiveness of qualification processes planning. Lastly, a concept of a pre-qualification process in an early pre-contractual stage is introduced and a case study regarding pre-qualification is presented.