Today is designated Careers in the Nuclear Fields Day for National Nuclear Science Week! To kick off Nuclear Careers Day, several Chicago ANS Local Section members participated in video interviews to share what fascinates and excites them about their nuclear careers.

Federal District Court rules against efforts by the State of Vermont to assert regulatory authority over radiological safety issues

National Nuclear Science Week-a week-long celebration to focus local, regional, and national interest on all aspects of nuclear science-has nearly arrived! On January 23-27, events and activities will be held across the United States to recognize the benefits of nuclear science and technology and to introduce the next generation of  scientists and engineers to the applications of nuclear technologies to everyday life. The National Nuclear Science Week website serves as the clearinghouse for next week's activities and is chock-full of great ideas for  how to learn, teach, and celebrate nuclear science and technology.

The January issue of Nuclear News magazine is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The issue contains the following stories:

It's time to welcome the next generation of nuclear scientists, engineers, artisans, technicians, health professionals, and the myriad other nuclear experts of the future-and celebrate our remarkable nuclear science and technology achievements to date-with National Nuclear Science Week, January 23-27, 2012!

Brown

Gilbert Brown, a professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a long-time member of the American Nuclear Society, has started a year-long fellowship at the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C. The William C. Foster Fellows Visiting Scholars Program was established by Congress in 1983 and gives specialists in the physical sciences an opportunity to use their expertise in support of the arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament activities of the State Department.

Sixty years ago on December 20, scientists and engineers in Arco, Idaho,

The December issue of Nuclear News magazine, which contains a special section on instrumentation and control, is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The special section contains the following stories:

ReActions is an information resource newsletter from the American Nuclear Society for teachers interested in the nuclear sciences. The new December issue highlights the upcoming National Nuclear Science Week (January 23-27) -along with online information sources for teachers using National Nuclear Science Week events to enhance classroom learning.

In the past week, two exciting new art-based initiatives in the nuclear sector have come to my attention. I am thrilled about both and want to share them with my fellow American Nuclear Society members.

American Nuclear Society scholarship applications for the 2012-2013 academic year are now online! Since ANS was established in 1954, it has promoted the awareness and understanding of nuclear science and technology (NS&T). To further that mission, ANS administers scholarships each year that support the development and education of those who will research and implement future applications of NS&T.

On Monday, December 5, American Nuclear Society president Eric Loewen visited the ANS Eastern Carolinas Section.

University student sections of the American Nuclear Society are very involved in reaching out to the public, including teaching young students about nuclear science and hosting public forums. With the resurgence of the nuclear energy industry, nuclear engineering enrollments at universities are increasing and thus ANS student sections are becoming more involved.

On December 2 in 1942, Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard, and their colleagues achieved the first man-made, sustained, controlled nuclear chain reaction-in a squash court beneath the football grandstand of the University of Chicago's Stagg Field. That event occurred 69 years ago today!

Shannon Bragg-Sitton of Idaho National Laboratory discusses nuclear applications for space missions, including the Mars Curiosity rover launched last Saturday, and the upcoming American Nuclear Society Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS) topical meeting, on March 21-23, in The Woodlands, Tex., held in conjunction with the March 19-23 Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference. Please check the links above for more info.

During the American Nuclear Society's 2011 Winter Meeting in November, about 90 ANS members visited lawmakers to promote nuclear energy and technology as part of the ANS/Young Professionals Congress visit to Capitol Hill. As a student at Purdue University, which is located in Indiana, I met with legislative assistants from the offices of Indiana senators Richard Lugar (R.) and Dan Coats (R.) and Congressman Todd Rokita (R.).

One of the most exciting and important events at the American Nuclear Society's Winter Meeting in Washington, DC, this year was the "Capitol Hill Day" visit held on November 4.  This event allowed society members the opportunity to go to Capitol Hill to meet with congress persons and staffs, and to offer unique expertise as the world's foremost experts in nuclear technologies.

The November/December issue of Radwaste Solutions is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center).