ANS continues to expand its certificate offerings

It's almost been a full year since the American Nuclear Society held its inaugural section of Nuclear 101, a comprehensive certificate course on the basics of the nuclear field. Offered at the 2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo, that first sold-out course marked a massive milestone in the Society's expanding work in professional development and certification.

At this year's Annual Conference, building on lessons learned from the first time through, ANS held the second offering of Nuclear 101, which also sold out. The course will once again be available at the 2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo, as will the inaugural offering of the Radioactive Waste Management Certificate Course.

Course purpose: Environmental concerns rooted in fears surrounding radioactive waste have been a major obstacle to the development of new nuclear projects worldwide. In the U.S., for example, more than ten states have implemented laws to restrict new reactor construction until a spent fuel disposal plan is developed.

To address these concerns and place them within the full context of the radioactive waste management field, this course will take students through the following topics:

• Key metrics of radioactive waste across the fuel cycle.
• History of nuclear waste management.
• Waste classification systems.
• Waste storage, conditioning, transportation, and disposal technologies.
• Performance assessments and safety for waste disposal.
• Regulations surrounding hazardous waste management.
• Recycling and its economic and environmental impacts.

The instructors: The inaugural offering of the Radioactive Waste Management Certificate Course will be taught by five instructors: Megan Harkema, assistant project manager for collaboration-based siting research at Vanderbilt University; Steven Krahn, professor of nuclear environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University; Christina Leggett, director of fuel cycle technologies at Oklo; Chammi Miller, R&D manager at Sandia National Laboratories; Scott Sanborn, manager at Sandia National Laboratories; and Haruko Wainwright, assistant professor of nuclear, civil, and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The bigger picture: The intended audience for this certificate ranges from undergraduate students with an interest in nuclear waste management to employers and professionals working in or adjacent to the field. While the course aims to correct misconceptions around waste and provide a bedrock of information, it also represents ANS's continued dedication to developing a wide portfolio of certificate and certification opportunities across the sector.

This focus closely aligns with ANS's broader goal to support the nuclear workforce pipeline by filling critical gaps in the industry. Visit the certificate course pages for Nuclear 101 and Radioactive Waste Management to learn more and register. Considering both sections of Nuclear 101 reached capacity, we anticipate that these new sections will sell out quickly, so sign up soon!