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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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Jun 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2025
Nuclear Technology
July 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Take steps on SNF and HLW disposal
Matt Bowen
With a new administration and Congress, it is time once again to ponder what will happen—if anything—on U.S. spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste management policy over the next few years. One element of the forthcoming discussion seems clear: The executive and legislative branches are eager to talk about recycling commercial SNF. Whatever the merits of doing so, it does not obviate the need for one or more facilities for disposal of remaining long-lived radionuclides. For that reason, making progress on U.S. disposal capabilities remains urgent, lest the associated radionuclide inventories simply be left for future generations to deal with.
In March, Rick Perry, who was secretary of energy during President Trump’s first administration, observed that during his tenure at the Department of Energy it became clear to him that any plan to move SNF “required some practical consent of the receiving state and local community.”1
Educator Training
March 7, 2024|5:00–6:00PM (6:00–7:00PM EST)
Available to All Users
Comet isn’t just one of Santa’s reindeer. To nuclear scientists, Comet—along with Planet, Flat-top, and Godiva IV—is a critical assembly, a type of reactor essential in conducting experiments using fissionable materials. Learn how critical and sub-critical assemblies are used in nuclear experiments in this special webinar for K-12 educators.
A Q&A session will follow their presentation, so send your and your students’ questions to webinars@ans.org.
Panelists
David AmesDOE NSCP Sandia Site ManagerSandia National Laboratory
Kelsey AmundsonResearch & Development EngineerLos Alamos National Laboratory
Jesse NorrisNuclear Criticality Safety EngineerLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Moderator
Evan GonzalezComputational PhysicistLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
BIOS
David Ames
David received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2006 and 2010. His focus was on the design and performance of advanced reactors and fuel cycles utilizing uncertainty quantification and multi-objective optimization techniques. David started at Sandia in 2010 and supported the NASA Fission Surface Power project and other advanced nuclear fuel cycle projects. In 2017, David joined the critical experiments team and authored two benchmark evaluations designed and performed at Sandia. He also supports the Sandia NCS Program as a qualified NCS Engineer and Deputy Program Lead. David recently took over the role of the DOE NSCP Sandia Site Manager.
Jesse Norris
Jesse is a Nuclear Criticality Safety Engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he has worked since 2017. The focus of his work is on experiment design, execution, and benchmarking for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Criticality Safety Program. Most recently, this includes two critical experiments within the Thermal and Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) Program utilizing Highly Enriched Uranium (TEX-HEU) and Hafnium (TEX-Hf). Jesse has a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University and an M.Eng. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Kelsey Amundson
Kelsey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016 and a Master of Engineering degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California-Berkeley in 2019. Kelsey began working in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Advanced Nuclear Technology group in June 2020 as a research & development engineer. Her team operates the critical assemblies at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) and she is a crew member on all four assemblies. Before working at Los Alamos National Laboratory she worked at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. She is an active member of the American Nuclear Society, serving as the Immediate-Chair of the Young Members Group, and as a member of the American Nuclear Society Board of Directors, and serves on two working groups for ANSI/ANS 8 series standards (8.19 and 8.20).
Evan Gonzalez
Evan is a computational physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he writes code to simulate how radiation interacts with matter. He completed his undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University in 2017 and his graduate degrees at the University of Michigan in 2023, all in nuclear engineering. Evan is co-chair of the ANS Young Members Group Program Committee.
This webinar is presented by ANS in partnership with the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy.