Local Section News

The Eastern Washington Local Section suported the recent Nuclear Science Exploration Workshop, held November 2 and 16, 2019 at the WRPS Training Center. A total of 29 Scouts and Girl Scouts, representing eleven separate Scouts BSA and Girl Scout troops, attended the training session. Some travelled from as far as Spokane to participate.

The participants were able to associate with and learn from local professionals in the nuclear science field.
They were then able to demonstrate their new knowledge by fulfilling all requirements to earn either the
BSA’s Nuclear Science merit badge, or the ANS-sponsored Girl Scouts Get to Know Nuclear activity patch. Two ANS members, Mike Valentina and Jeff Katalenia, volunteered on behalf of the ANS EWS.

St. Charles Scarecrow Festival
ANS-Chicago partnered with Generation Nation and local nuclear organizations to host a booth at the St. Charles Scarecrow Festival located in St. Charles on October 11th – 13th. Despite the rainy and cold weather, we had hundreds of interactions with the local community both in handing out materials and balloons and in one-on-one conversations. Thank you to those who volunteered!  See below a photo of the scarecrow that we entered into their scarecrow competition. (Enrico Fermi, Thomas Edison and Marie Curie)

ANS-Chicago Dinner Meeting

Dr. Martha Menchaca, a radiologist and assistant professor at the University of Illinois Hospital presented on the history of nuclear medicine at Argonne National Lab. ANS Chicago also hosted a delegation of leaders and researchers from African countries nominated by the U.S. Department of State to visit with organizations in the US.

Please view a blog post from one of our members on his experience with nuclear medicine!
Prior to dinner, our vice-chair also led a tour of Argonne’s Nuclear Exhibition Hall.

Back to School STEM Fair w/ Congressman Bill Foster

We had volunteers host a booth at the Back to School STEM Fair w/ Congressman Bill Foster on Saturday, October 19th at West Aurora High School.  Thank you to those volunteers! See photos below of our attendance; especially with the Congressman.

The Idaho National Laboratory and the Idaho Section American Nuclear Society were host to over 100 K-12 students at their 2nd annual STEM at the Museum.  This day-long event shows “future STEM leaders” how exciting science curriculum can be and how it is used in possible careers.

Activities included several interactive exhibits involving chemistry, circuits, radiation, and space,

Learn More…

In celebration of National Nuclear Science Week 2018, scouts from 6 troops in the Twin River Council participated in the Nuclear Science Merit Badge camp at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  The program, sponsored by the ANS Northeastern New York Section, was held October 13, 2018 on the RPI campus in Troy and October 24 at the Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility in Schenectady.  19 scouts successfully completed all of the requirements of the merit badge.  Special thanks to the Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy at RPI to provide the facilities for the class and the RPI Student Section of ANS to provide support at the event.  

Boy Scouts from the mid-south were invited to River Bend to participate in the Nuclear Science Merit Badge Workshop on Oct. 6. The Boy Scouts used ping pong balls to see how a chain reaction was made. The mayhem that followed demonstrated a nuclear chain reaction, one of many practical exercises for boy scouts from local troops to gain their Nuclear Science Merit badges.

“61 Scouts earned their Nuclear Science Merit Badge on Saturday, including the opportunity to see how an actual nuclear power plant works by watching a Control Room Training Simulator demonstration. This was a great opportunity for them to learn about the fascinating field of atomic science as well as the critical role nuclear energy plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Paul Sicard, Engineer, RBS and organizer of the event.

Scouts were invited to participate in a dress out for work in a radiation area, find out if items were radioactive with a Geiger Counter and saw a control room scenario in RBS’s training center. Carl Kluttz, Troop 796, Gretna, LA, said, “The Scouts enjoyed the merit badge class, especially the hands-on part in simulation center and riding the bike to
make electricity. The Scouts had some pretty interesting questions for the Entergy staff, and they answered the questions.”

Volunteers of RBS ranged from electrical engineers to simulator operators. Organizations including ANS Louisiana Local Section and North American Young Generation in Nuclear were present to help.

“During the ride home afterward, the three Scout riding with me all said that they learned something new during the workshop, which for me as a leader and parent is what I’m looking for when they take a merit badge class,” said Gary Scronce, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 66, New Roads, LA.

The first joint meeting between the Savannah River Section of the American Nuclear Society and Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness featured a nationally recognized speaker and put the state of America’s nuclear power industry on display.

Dr. Andrew Klein, president of the American Nuclear Society and professor at Oregon State University, spoke to the group in North Augusta Thursday evening, focusing on progress and promotion of nuclear technology and understanding.

He advocated building newer, more efficient plants while ensuring current ones are kept running and are maintained to the highest standards.

“There are four nuclear power plants being built between Georgia and South Carolina and they’re important to what’s coming next,” Klein said.

Read more…

The Savannah River Local Section again supported the Science Education Enrichment Day (SEED) Day program at USC Aiken on October 1, 2015. We had another successful SEED this year even with the rain in the morning. Started great with getting out of the car in the rain and stepping into a deep puddle to get my shoes wet. Better after that. We had a great volunteer effort with Karmen McClain, Fred Pilot holding down the fission chamber with no lost time accidents. We did have a few unplanned criticalities. These can be used as a form of advertisement as it sends ping pong balls about 30 feet into the crowd. Dan Thomas handled the radiation exhibit and the nuclear power presentation all day long. Mary Mewborn took some pictures and brightened the party. Brent Bland and Alex Deng supported us and did a fine job.

I would guess that we spoke directly to over 300 students and their parents. We all look forward to at least one interaction with the students where I feel we make an impact. One student about 8 years old took the survey meter and scanned the sources quietly. I told him to turn the probe over and see the response. It went down. I asked him what he thought had happened. He said less radiation was getting thru. I asked why. He says in a quiet voice, “this side has no holes”. It is solid. The other side has holes in it so the radiation can come thru. So then I explained the difference between beta and gamma radiation. He understood and smiled.

Virginia Commonwealth University hosted 21 middle and high school math and science teachers at its 10th annual multi-day science teacher workshop, held July 11–15. Titled “The Science of Nuclear Energy and Radiation,” the workshop was organized by the ANS Virginia Local Section and the Virginia chapters of the HPS and NAYGN. Sama Bilbao y León, an ANS member and associate professor and director of nuclear engineering programs at VCU, served as the lead organizer of the workshop, and several other members of the ANS Virginia Section volunteered their time, including keynote speakers Eugene Grecheck— ANS’s immediate past president—and Carol Berrigan, who currently serves on the ANS Board of Directors.

The teachers received instruction, room and board, and teaching materials to take home, including Geiger counters. In addition to lectures,  discussions, and hands-on activities, the workshop included tours of VCU’s nuclear medicine facilities and Dominion’s North Anna nuclear power station. Those teachers who completed pre- and post-workshop assignments and passed a final exam earned four continuing education units through the VCU Office of Continuing Studies.

Wilmington and its nuclear-related businesses were front and center during the seventh annual Nuclear Science Week, a national series of events held each October aimed at educating the public about nuclear science, technology and business. The University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Watson College of Education was the host for 2016, serving as the venue Oct. 20-22 for the main events — called the “Big Event” — of Nuclear Science Week. This event is sponsored by GE Hitachi and Duke Energy Progress. Read more…