Candidates announced for the 2027 ANS national election

Ballots will be sent via email on March 2, 2027, and must be submitted by April 13, 2027. As the election gets closer, Nuclear News will publish candidates' statements. For now, read brief summaries of each candidate below.

Vice president/president-elect:

Todd Allen, ANS member since 1991, is the associate dean for research at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. He is also a senior fellow at Third Way, supporting the think tank's climate and energy portfolio. He currently serves on the Society's Board of Directors.

Paul P. H. Wilson, ANS member since 1992, is the Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been an ANS Fellow since 2023 and currently is serving his second term on the Board of Directors.

Treasurer:

Joyce Connery, ANS member since 2009, is the president and owner of Connery Strategies. She previously served as chair and board member of the Department of Energy's Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and as a member of ANS's International Committee.

Jess C. Gehin, ANS member since 1992, is the associate laboratory director for nuclear science and technology at Idaho National Laboratory. He currently serves on the Society's Finance Committee, has been an ANS Fellow since 2016, and previously served on the Board of Directors.

U.S. directors:

Yasir Arafat, ANS member since 2021, is the cofounder, chief technology officer, and president of Aalo Atomics. He previously served as the technical lead for the DOE's Microreactor Program, the chief designer for the MARVEL reactor at INL, and the technical lead for the eVinci reactor at Westinghouse.

Rita Baranwal, ANS member since 2008, is the chief nuclear officer at Radiant Industries. She previously was the DOE's assistant secretary for nuclear energy and the inaugural director of the GAIN initiative. She has been an ANS Fellow since 2020 and was the general chair of the 2024 ANS Winter Conference & Expo.

Timothy Crook, ANS member since 2011, is the Natrium consequence safety methods and analysis manager at TerraPower. He previously led development for the company's Molten Chloride Fast Reactor and Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment and is a past chair of ANS's Operations & Power Division.

Jamie B. Coble, ANS member since 2002, is a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She previously was a professor in the Department of Engineering at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a staff scientist in the Applied Physics group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She currently serves as co-vice chair of the ANS Cares Committee and as associate editor of ANS journal Nuclear Technology.

Paul Dickman, ANS member since 2009, is an emeritus senior policy fellow at Argonne National Laboratory. He previously was the chief of staff to the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and deputy director in the Nuclear National Security Administration's Office of Policy. He currently serves as the chair of the Society's External Affairs Committee and has previously been on the Board of Directors.

Keith J. Drudy, ANS member since 2000, is interim president/CEO of Studsvik Americas. He has held a variety of engineering, regulatory, and operational leadership roles at Westinghouse and Southern Nuclear and is a member of the executive committee for ANS's Operations & Power Division.

Deborah A. Hill, ANS member since 2004, is the senior fellow in criticality safety and head of fellowship at the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory, where she also serves as senior technical advisor to the lab's criticality safety programs. She has been an ANS Fellow since 2024 and previously served as the chair of the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division.

Alyse S. Huffman, ANS member since 2009, is the senior advisor for nuclear energy policy and partnership at INL. Her previous positions include director of policy and government affairs at Radiant Industries and senior professional staff member in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources. She also has served as the Society's Glenn T. Seaborg Congressional Science & Engineering Fellow and as an executive committee member of the Young Members Group.

Young member director:

Amanda M. Bachmann, ANS member since 2016, is a nuclear engineer at Argonne National Laboratory. She is a member of U.S. Women in Nuclear, is on the ANS Cares Committee, and previously served as co-vice chair of the Student Sections Committee.

Julianne (Julie) McCallum, ANS member since 2020, is a supply chain specialist at Zeno Power. She previously served as project manager of new nuclear, among other roles, at the Nuclear Energy Institute. She is the immediate past chair of the ANS Young Members Group.

Student director:

Madison Grove, ANS member since 2025, is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was the student program leader for the 2026 ANS Annual Conference and also has been secretary of the Virginia Commonwealth University ANS Student Section.

Ace Rounds, ANS member since 2021, is a nuclear physics Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University. She is the graduate representative of the Purdue University Student Section and is a member of the Young Members Group and the Student Sections Committee.