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
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
Meeting Spotlight
2027 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
October 31–November 4, 2027
Washington, DC|The Westin Washington, DC 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
Dec 2024
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
December 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2024
Latest News
Constellation pushes FERC for PJM rules on co-located generation
A new complaint filed by Constellation asks the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order the PJM Interconnection to provide rules for co-located generation to serve large facilities, such as data centers.
Educator Training
May 16, 2024|5:00–6:00PM (6:00–7:00PM EDT)
Available to All Users
Nuclear science experiments don’t need exotic equipment. You can create an engaging background radiation lab exploration with a vacuum cleaner and a coffee filter. Join Candace Davison, ANS Professional Development Specialist, on May 16, 6:00 – 7:00 pm ET for this fun and informative presentation developed specifically for K-12 educators. Candace will set up and run the experiment live from the Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center while also providing information on background radiation. There will be a Q&A following the presentations, so bring questions. And attend live for the opportunity to win a vintage Geiger-Müller counter.
Presenter
Candace DavisonFormer Assistant Director for Education and Outreach and CoordinatorGamma Irradiation FacilityPenn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center
Moderator
Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar
Associate Dean, College of Science and EngineeringProfessor, Nuclear EngineeringSenior Reactor OperatorIdaho State UniversityANS President (2020-2021)
BIOS
Candace Davison
Candace has been a STEM educator for more than 30 years, including at Penn State University, where she was most recently Assistant Director for Education and Outreach and Coordinator of the Gamma Irradiation facility at the Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center. She was the first woman to be licensed as a Senior Reactor Operator on the university’s TRIGA Mark III Reactor.
Candace joined Penn State in the Energy Technology Projects group in the Nuclear Engineering Department, where she developed programs and presentations on energy, nuclear technology, radon, and radioactive waste. She began developing teacher training programs as a member of the Penn State Nuclear Concepts and Technological Issues Institute. Originally a Pennsylvania-based program, the institute expanded to include science educators from the US and abroad. She has also conducted educational workshops for the Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP) and Penn State's Center for Science and the Schools (CSATs).
Candace has conducted numerous courses and workshops for professionals, educators, and students of all ages through volunteer activity with many organizations, including the American Nuclear Society (ANS). Because of her extensive volunteer work for ANS, she received the Landis Public Communication and Education Award in 2012 and has been awarded three presidential citations. She is also involved with the American Association of University Women, American Association of Physics Teachers, Graduate Women in Science, Women in Nuclear and the Society for Women Engineers. Candace has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Engineering (M. Eng) in Environmental Engineering.
Mary Lou is the associate dean of the Idaho State University (ISU) College of Science and Engineering, associate professor of nuclear engineering, and a senior reactor operator at ISU’s Aerojet-General Nucleonics nuclear reactor, commonly known as the AGN-201. Presently, she coordinates the nuclear engineering curriculum at ISU and teaches core graduate and undergraduate courses. She also performs nuclear materials research and is involved in regional and discipline accreditations, ISU’s international program development, and reactor administration.
Mary Lou has published internationally and is recognized as principal investigator of productive research projects incorporating nuclear material irradiation and characterization and the associated management of radioactive material.
She has collaborated on a variety of projects and proposals in university, national laboratory, and international research environments. This includes her work as a joint appointee scientist at Idaho National Laboratory where she led the Simulation Institute for Nuclear Enterprise Modeling and Analysis fuel-cycle modeling project. She also worked at Argonne National Lab with various duties associated with pyroprocessing spent fuel and was also a high school science and math teacher in the U.S. and U.K.
Mary Lou has a B.S. in chemistry from Cedar Crest College and received an M.S. in environmental engineering along with her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear fuels and materials development, spent fuel processing, and waste form development.
An ANS member since 1992, Mary Lou was on the ANS Board of Directors from 1996-1999. She is a member of the Accreditation Policy & Procedures Committee; Development Committee; Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division; Education, Training and Workforce Development Division; the Special Committee on Government Relations; and is the faculty advisor for the ANS Idaho State University Student Section. She is an active member of the Idaho ANS Local Section and has served on numerous organizing committees for local and national meetings.
In 2011 and 2014, she received ANS Presidential Citations and the Landis Public Communication and Education Award in 2014.
This webinar is presented by ANS in partnership with the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy.