Awards

W. Reed Johnson Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Virginia Section of the American Nuclear Society

This award is given to an individual or individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Virginia Section of the American Nuclear Society (VA-ANS) and lead and inspire others to get actively involved in Section activities. Established in 2007, this award honors Dr. W. Reed Johnson, who was also the first recipient, a University of Virginia emeritus professor who has been the heart and soul of the VA-ANS for many years. Reed's lifetime commitment and tireless dedication to VA-ANS was instrumental in keeping the Section alive through difficult years and was decisive in leading it to become one of the strongest local sections in the country.

W. Reed Johnson Award recipients are selected by the VA-ANS Executive Committee annually. A maximum of one award per year will be given, and only if there is a suitable candidate. Nominees must be VA-ANS members. An appropriately inscribed certificate or plaque will be presented whenever a suitable candidate is selected for the award. Nominations for this award must be submitted by July 1 to the VA-ANS Executive Committee at virginia@local.ans.org. The nomination package must include:

• A detailed description of the nominee's contributions to VA-ANS
• A proposed title to be inscribed in the plaque
• Three endorsement letters

For more information, please contact the VA-ANS Chair.

Past Recipients

Student Awards

More than 450 students from nuclear engineering programs from all over the US and about 100 professionals participated in the 2018 ANS Student Conference hosted by the University of Florida. VCU-ANS sent 22 students, and presented 12 papers in the various tracks.

Three of our students were also recognized for their research work. All abstracts are peer reviewed and all podium presentations are judged by professionals from the industry. Hunter Andrews, Dimitris Killinger and Sarah Morgan, received best presentation awards in their respective technical tracks. Hunter Andrews was also recognized with the best overall paper award, and it will be published in a special issue of Nuclear Technology.

Hunter Andrews, Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division, titled "Development of an Experimental Routine for Electrochemical and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Composition Measurements of LiCl-KCl Eutectic Salts."

Dimitris Killinger, Materials Science and Technology Division, titled "Observation and Quantification of Solvent Efficiency for Washing Electrorefined Uranium Dendrites in LiCl-KCl Eutectic Salt."

Sarah Morgan, Thermal-Hydraulics & Fluids Division, titled "The Use of Machine Learning in Reduced Order Modeling for Improved Thermal Stratification Models."

Section Awards

VA-ANS has won several awards including Best Small Section - Meetings and Programs (2006, 2008), Best Small Section - Public Information and Education (2006, 2008), Best Small Section - Management (2004), and Best Small Section - Membership (2004).