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Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society

The fields of interest of the NPSS include Nuclear Science and Engineering (including radiation detection and monitoring instrumentation, radiation effects, nuclear biomedical applications, particle accelerators, and instrumentation for nuclear power generation), and Plasma Science and Engineering (including plasma dynamics, thermonuclear fusion, plasma sources, relativistic electron beams, laser plasma interactions, diagnostics, and solid state plasmas). The NPSS sponsors more than seven conferences and four peer reviewed journals.

NPSS AdCom Elections

The NPSS Administrative Committee (AdCom) consists of various members including elected members from our eight Technical Committees (TC) and the Transnational Committee. Each year, some TCs have open positions for a term of four years.

If you are interested in AdCom positions or want to nominate somebody in the future, please contact our Nominations Chair, Steven Meikle, at steven.meikle@sydney.edu.au. Candidates must be members in good standing of the NPSS and the IEEE. Each nomination must contain a statement of the willingness and ability of the nominee to serve if elected, the membership status and number of the nominee, a short biography, and a statement of topics that the candidate wishes to address as an AdCom member. Nominations for AdCom positions must be sent to the Nominations Chair before June 1 of each year.

Learn about NPSS

The IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) originated in 1949 as the Professional Group on Nuclear Science within the IRE. At about the same time, the AIEE formed two committees, one on nucleonics, the other on nucleonic and radiation instruments. In 1963, the IRE and AIEE merged to form the IEEE. This resulted in the creation of the Nuclear Science Group. In 1972, Plasma Science was added and the group was promoted to a society. The NPSS is composed of eight technical committees, and a Transnational Committee, with a common interest in advancing nuclear and plasma sciences.

NPSS Poster to download and print

IEEE is ...

  • The most prolific technical publisher worldwide.
  • The largest technical/scientific professional organization.
  • International with activities in all regions of the world and offices in Asia and Europe.
  • Organizes the most number of technical meetings and has the highest aggregate attendance.
  • The professional organization with the broadest technical scope with 38 Technical Societies.

NPSS is ...

The IEEE Technical Society that covers the fields of Fusion Technology, Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences, Particle Accelerator Science and Technology, Pulsed Power Systems, Radiation Effects, Radiation Instrumentation, Plasma Sciences and Applications, Standards for Nuclear Instruments and Detectors, and Computer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Sciences.

  • Organizes and supports many symposia, conferences and workshops each year.
  • Publishes four Transactions (one in collaboration with three other societies).
  • Publishes a Newsletter that reaches all members four times a year.
  • Presents awards each year to recognize major contributors to the field.
  • Provides access to publications through IEEE Xplore™ on-line.
  • Members save on conference registration.
  • Members keep in touch via the NPSS Newsletter (worth more than the dues by itself!).
  • Supports the growth of the profession.
  • Members can get involved in the affairs of NPSS and help direct and further promote our profession and make further valuable contacts.

Strategic Plan

Mission Statement

To provide opportunities for scientific exchange and career development and to promote a diverse and inclusive community of nuclear and plasma scientists and engineers.

Strategic Goals

Our broad strategic goals are:

  • To offer high quality technical conferences, community engagement, networking and outreach activities that meet the educational, research and professional development needs of our community.
  • To provide publications that are among the highest ranked journals in their respective fields.
  • To encourage growth of a diverse and inclusive community of volunteers, with a particular focus on internationalization and increasing the participation and leadership opportunities for under-represented groups.
  • To undertake impactful development activities that foster technological innovation, with priority given to activities related to the NPSS fields of interest, and to sustainability for recurring activities.

Operational Plan

The developed strategic goals will guide  planning of our  activities over the next 5 years, at which time the strategic plan will be reviewed and updated. Many of our activities are core business and are ongoing, such as our conferences and publications.

Our new initiatives provide the primary mechanism to actualize the goals of our strategic plan. New initiatives are 1- to 3-year activities that are not normally carried out under the operational budget. They are generally considered forward looking and strategic in nature. Under TAB rules we are able to allocate up to 3% of our reserves balance to new initiatives, provided the total budget for new initiatives of all societies and councils does not exceed 1% of total TAB reserves in any given year. We are also able to allocate up to 50% of our operational surplus each year towards 1-year initiatives in the following year, with the remainder going into reserves.

Message From The President

I am very pleased to welcome you to the Website of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS), one of the 46 IEEE Technical Societies and Councils. This web site contains relevant information about our society mission and goals, technical areas, upcoming conferences, publications, awards, chapters and local activities, the distinguished lecturers’ program, and other information about our international NPSS community. You will also find links to information about the broader IEEE organization, which provides wider context to the NPSS activities.

NPSS owes its success and vibrancy to its many members and volunteers who serve in many different roles: as conference organizers, reviewers, and promoting various educational and humanitarian activities, for which the society provides support. While volunteering does require some time commitment, it almost inevitably ends up being a two-way street; participating in NPSS activities is a rewarding way to enrich your career and professional life, get to know other professional people, and work with similarly minded colleagues.

If you are interested in participating in the activities of the NPSS, at any level, be it reviewing papers, the organization of conferences, or events promoting diversity, inclusion and humanitarian efforts in relevant areas, please contact me (vesna@phas.ubc.ca), or any of the Technical Committee or Functional Chairs, for information and advice. You may also be interested in exploring the opportunity of developing applications for NPSS initiatives.

If you are not yet an NPSS member, please consider joining us—there are many valuable benefits of membership. You can find information about joining the IEEE at IEEE Membership. We have special programs to help students, young professionals and Women in Engineering to build their professional networks and leadership opportunities. As you progress in your career, you will also have the opportunity to be recognized for your accomplishments through our awards and through elevation to Senior Member or Fellow status.

Please visit our web site regularly to check for the most recent information. You can also follow our Facebook page where we regularly publish news and announcements.

 

Sincerely,
Vesna Sossi, NPSS President

 

NPSS Fields of Interest

The fields of interest of the Society are the nuclear and plasma sciences. The Society shall devote itself to publication or other dissemination of original contributions to the theory, experiments, educational methods and applications of these fields, and to the development of standards. Areas of technical activity shall include but not be limited to the following:
Nuclear science and engineering, and plasma science and engineering, including computer applications in plasma and nuclear science, nuclear medical and imaging sciences, particle accelerator science and technology, pulsed power science and technology, radiation effects, and radiation instrumentation.

These fields of interest include instrumentation for research; detection and measurement of radiation; nuclear biomedical applications; radiation monitoring and safety equipment; particle accelerators; magnetofluid dynamics and thermionics; plasma dynamics; gaseous electronics and arc technology; controlled thermonuclear fusion; electron, ion, and plasma sources; space plasmas; high-current relativistic electron beams and accelerators; laser-plasma interactions; diagnostics; plasma chemistry and colloidal and solid state plasmas, z pinch drivers, nuclear instrumentation development for reactor systems; effects of radiation on materials, components, and systems; and applications of radiation and nuclear energy to other than utility power generation.

IEEE Smart Village Humanitarian Project

The IEEE Smart Village (formerly Community Solutions Initiative) is a member-led not-for-profit humanitarian outreach program of the IEEE.  In 2014, the IEEE Foundation  accepted IEEE Smart Village as one of its four “Signature Programs,” of the IEEE thus adding to its menu of innovative initiatives, a humanitarian mission that delivers immediate impact to the world’s poorest and most energy-deprived populations.

Smart Village is unique in that it does not provide grants in the traditional sense; instead, micro-utility equipment is donated to an NGO partner. This concept grew out of a multi-society member-inspired initiative committed to open-source design and delivery of energy, education, and technology to the far off-grid electricity impoverished.  Its unique emphasis is on the stimulus of social enterprise via the donation of equipment, training, and start-up expertise to become self sustaining community owned and operated micro-utilities.

Widely supported by IEEE’s societies and councils, Smart Village is actively seeking funding support and volunteers interested in helping with the deployment, organizational design and expansion of the program.  We hope you will consider your personal participation in IEEE Smart Village. Learn more about IEEE Smart Village here.

History of NPSS

The first activity of record in this field was the formation of a Nuclear Studies Committee in the IRE in 1947, to determine the proper role of the IRE in this new technical field. Subsequently, in 1949 a petition was filed for the formation of a Professional Group on Nuclear Science, and it was approved on April 5, 1949, with L. R. Hafstad as Chairman. On April 29, an organizational meeting was held, the membership at that time consisting of 54, increasing to 970 by the end of the year.

The new organization became visible on a number of fronts in the early 50’s. In 1953, the PGNS formed an Atomic Energy Policy Committee, which fielded a strong effort to have the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 modified. These efforts came to fruition in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Early in the 50’s the PGNS became a co-sponsor of the Scintillation Counter Symposium, which has now merged into the Nuclear Science Symposium. Also in 1954 the first issue of the Transactions on Nuclear Science appeared. In 1956 the number of issues of the Transactions was increased from one a year to four.

At essentially the same time as the Professional Group on Nuclear Science was formed in the IRE, the AIEE formed a number of committees and subcommittees to work in this area, the most important being the Nucleonics Committee and Committee on Nucleonic and Radiation Instruments. With the merger of the IRE and AIEE on January 1, 1963, to form the IEEE, procedures were begun to merge the like-interest groups of the former societies. The IRE Professional Group on Nuclear Science merged with the AIEE Nucleonics Committee and the Committee on Nucleonic and Radiation Instruments on October 29, 1963, to become the Nuclear Science Group of the IEEE.

In 1972 two major events occurred for the Group. Midyear the scope was widened to include the plasma science field and in September the group was given Society status. The augmented group became the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society. March of 1973 saw the debut of a second publication, the Transactions on Plasma Science. NPSS thus has the distinction of issuing two publications, in addition to a newsletter.

Over the years the Society has inaugurated or assumed responsibility for a number of conferences. Every year the Society sponsors conferences on Plasma Science, Radiation Effects, and Nuclear Science. Conferences on Particle Accelerators, Fusion Engineering, and Data Acquisition in Nuclear and Particle Physics are sponsored every other year. In addition, other conferences such as Symposium on Nuclear Power systems are co-sponsored by the Society.

Lou Costrell produced a record of the early history of the NPSS

Merry Keyser created a spreadsheet of the History of NSS

NPSS Nuclear Power Initiative

There is resurgence in interest in nuclear power throughout the world as a result of the exponentially growing demand for energy and the simultaneous concerns for production of green house gases from conventional fossil-fuel power plants. Global electricity needs are expected to double well before 2050 with the largest fraction of that new generation of power coming from coal. Nuclear power is a rapidly growing element in the global energy mix, with some projecting the number of nuclear plants in the world growing by as much as a factor three, to 1200 plants, by 2050.

The IEEE NPSS Nuclear Science Symposium (NSS) originated in the early 50’s and has been held annually since. The symposium concentrated on the detectors and electronics for high-energy and nuclear physics and is recognized as the premier meeting for leading developments in these fields.

The IEEE NPSS reintroduced the topic of nuclear power into the NSS program in 2008. Future NSS conferences will include sessions on Nuclear Power to cover this broad subject area. Participants working in the field of nuclear power will benefit from the scientific contributions presented in the other well-established NSS sessions on Nuclear Measurements and Monitoring Techniques, Neutron Instrumentation, Radiation Damage Effects, and Safety Instrumentation / Homeland Security, among others.

NSS sessions on Nuclear Power consider the inclusion of papers on the topics of:

  • The resurgence of nuclear power in the world
  • Next generation nuclear power systems
  • Instrumentation and control systems for nuclear power systems
  • Detector technology for nuclear power
  • Non-proliferation measurement systems
  • Modeling and simulation for nuclear energy
  • Plant life management and extension
  • Fusion in the Energy Context
  • ITER
  • Predictive simulation of fusion plasmas
  • Strategic Planning for a broader U.S. fusion program

The Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA) conference, held every two years, is largely focused on nuclear energy related topics.

Suggestions, comments, … should be sent to: Richard Kouzes

 

Contact the NPSS WebMaster

The NPSS WebMaster is Richard Kouzes

A not-for-profit organization, the IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

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