Alpha Nu Sigma
Alpha Nu Sigma is an American nuclear engineering honor society. Alpha Nu Sigma was established to "recognize high scholarship, integrity, and potential achievement among outstanding degree-seeking nuclear engineering students at institutions of higher learning". As of spring 2020, there are 23 active chapters and approximately 2,000 members nationwide.
History
Alpha Nu Sigma National Honor Society was established by the American Nuclear Society on June 5, 1979. Alpha Nu Sigma quickly grew in size, obtaining 17 chapters and 320 members by its third anniversary in June 1982. By the end of 1985, Alpha Nu Sigma had grown to 23 chapters and 920 members. The Chernobyl disaster occurred in 1986, and growth of the society has struggled since that event.Symbols
The motto of Alpha Nu Sigma is "Energy Newly Born Through Wisdom". The symbol of Alpha Nu Sigma contains "three ellipses representing electron orbits surrounding a nucleus of protons and neutrons" with the Greek letters of the society superimposed.Membership
Membership selection criteria for Alpha Nu Sigma is outlined in the national honor society's constitution. The criteria is summarized as follows:- Candidates for membership must be enrolled in a program to pursue an academic degree in an applied-nuclear-science, nuclear-engineering, or nuclear-engineering option curriculum.
- Juniors shall be eligible if they rank in the top quarter of their peer group.
- Seniors and graduate students shall be eligible if they rank in the top third of their peer group.
- Faculty members shall also be eligible for membership.
- Honorary membership may be awarded to individuals who have made "exemplary contributions in the field of nuclear science and engineering that have had seminal permanent impact nationally or internationally".
Chapter list
| University / College | State | Notes | Ref |
| Excelsior College | New York | -- | |
| Georgia Tech | Georgia | -- | |
| Kansas State University | Kansas | -- | |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts | The student chapter awarded Lisa Porter an Outstanding Teaching Award in 1996. | |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | Missouri | -- | |
| North Carolina State University | North Carolina | -- | |
| Ohio State University | Ohio | -- | |
| Oregon State University | Oregon | -- | |
| Pennsylvania State University | Pennsylvania | -- | |
| Purdue University | Indiana | -- | |
| South Carolina State University | South Carolina | -- | |
| Texas A&M University | Texas | -- | |
| United States Military Academy | New York | -- | |
| United States Naval Academy | Maryland | -- | |
| University of California, Berkeley | California | -- | |
| University of Florida | Florida | -- | |
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | Illinois | -- | |
| University of Massachusetts Lowell | Massachusetts | -- | |
| University of Michigan | Michigan | -- | |
| University of Tennessee | Tennessee | -- | |
| University of Texas at Austin | Texas | -- | |
| University of Utah | Utah | -- | |
| University of Wisconsin–Madison | Wisconsin | -- |
Honorary members
As of spring 2020, the following table lists the 28 honorary members of Alpha Nu Sigma.| Name | Sponsor | Year | Notes | Ref |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1982 | Chairman of the advisory committee to the United States Atomic Energy Commission ; known for his work on the Manhattan Project | ||
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | 1983 | -- | ||
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 1984 | -- | ||
| University of Florida | 2000 | Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission | ||
| University of Michigan | 1986 | President of the University of Michigan | ||
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | 1982 | -- | ||
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 1983 | Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ; president of the American Nuclear Society | ||
| University of Arizona | 1993 | Director of the Argonne National Laboratory ; known as the man who stood ready with an axe to cut the scram line during the start-up of Chicago Pile-1 | ||
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 1983 | Pioneered the theory and design of nuclear power plants | ||
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | 1982 | -- | ||
| University of Michigan | 1983 | -- | ||
| Kansas State University | 1981 | -- | ||
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 1983 | Pioneer in nuclear power safety research; director of reactor safety research at the United States Atomic Energy Commission in the early 1970s | ||
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 1984 | -- | ||
| Iowa State University | 1983 | -- | ||
| Iowa State University | 1983 | Directed the development of the CANDU reactor | ||
| National Officers | 1991 | Vice Chief of Naval Operations ; Commander of the United States Pacific Command | ||
| South Carolina State University | 2014 | -- | ||
| Pennsylvania State University | 1991 | -- | ||
| Kansas State University | 1981 | -- | ||
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1985 | Professor of nuclear engineering at MIT; known for his work in plasma physics and fusion power | ||
| University of Florida | 1984 | -- | ||
| Pennsylvania State University | 1984 | -- | ||
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | 1991 | Pioneer of solid state physics; president of the United States National Academy of Sciences | ||
| Iowa State University | 1984 | -- | ||
| Iowa State University | 1983 | Founded the Electric Power Research Institute | ||
| Kansas State University | 1989 | Known as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" through the application of the Teller-Ulam design | ||
| University of Florida | 1984 | -- |