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
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
The Materials Science and Technology Graduate Scholarship was established by the MSTD in 1984 for graduate students pursuing studies in materials science and technology for nuclear applications.
In November 1993, the award was renamed the James F. Schumar Scholarship.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from a predecessor of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, James Francis Schumar (1917-2002) began his career in 1940 as a chief metallurgist for Wolverine Tube Company. During World War II he was recruited for the Manhattan Project, and he developed procedures for cladding metallic uranium fuel rods with aluminum for the first plutonium production reactors at Hanford and for Chicago Pile 3. He joined Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in 1946 as associate director of the metallurgy division and directed 50 staff metallurgists in developing materials and fabrication techniques for a variety of research reactors. During his tenure, he oversaw the first application of a uranium oxide fuel for generating civilian power, in the BORAX-4 and -5 reactors and the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor.
During his tenure as chair of the metallurgy department at Gulf General Atomic from 1960-62, he directed research on materials for gas-cooled reactors, which led to the manufacturing of fuel elements for the first civilian high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in the United States, Peach Bottom Station.
He returned to ANL in 1962, where he directed the development of tungsten-uranium oxide fuel elements, which were specified for the space propulsion program. He retired from ANL in 1984, as a senior scientist. Schumar was the first chair of the ANS Materials Science and Technology Division, which he helped organize. Schumar served on the board of the American Nuclear Society, was a fellow of the American Society of Metallurgy and published numerous papers and articles.
James Francis Schumar died of heart failure on July 30, 2002, at the age of 85.
Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD)
A selection committee will be established by the Materials Science and Technology Division
Graduate (Masters or Ph.D.)
1 awarded annually @ $3,000/each
None
February 1
Last modified April 15, 2020, 8:50am CDT