Alpha Nu Sigma

Alpha Nu Sigma (ΑΝΣ) is an American nuclear engineering honor society affiliated with the American Nuclear Society. It has chartered more than 25 chapters at universities in the United States.

Alpha Nu Sigma
ΑΝΣ
Founded	June 5, 1979; 46 years ago (1979-06-05)
Type	Honor
Affiliation	American Nuclear Society
Status	Active
Emphasis	Nuclear energy
Scope	National
Motto	Energy Newly Born Through Wisdom
Member badge
Colors	White
Chapters	25
Members	4,300+ lifetime
Headquarters	c/o American Nuclear Society 555 N. Kensington Ave. La Grange Park, Illinois 60526-5592 United States
Website	www.ans.org/honors/ansnhs/

History

Alpha Nu Sigma National Honor Society was established by the American Nuclear Society on June 5, 1979.^[1] it was established to "recognize high scholarship, integrity, and potential achievement among outstanding degree-seeking nuclear engineering students at institutions of higher learning".^[2] Alpha Nu Sigma quickly grew in size, obtaining seventeen chapters and 320 members by its third anniversary in June 1982.

By the end of 1985, Alpha Nu Sigma had established 23 chapters with 920 members. The Chernobyl disaster occurred in 1986, and the growth of the society has struggled since that event. As of 2024, it has chartered more than 25 chapters and has initiated more than 4,300 total members.^[3]

Symbols

The motto of Alpha Nu Sigma is Αλκή νεογέγονεν δία Σοφία, meaning "Energy Newly Born Through Wisdom".^[1] The symbol and badge 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.^[1] Its honor cord color is white.^[4]

Membership

Membership selection criteria for Alpha Nu Sigma are outlined in the national honor society's constitution.^[1] The criteria are 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 a seminal permanent impact nationally or internationally".

Chapters

As of fall 2021, the following table lists the chapters of Alpha Nu Sigma.

Institution	Location	Status	References
Excelsior University	Albany, New York	Active	[5][6]
Georgia Tech	Atlanta, Georgia	Inactive	[5]
Idaho State University	Pocatello, Idaho	Inactive	[5]
Kansas State University	Manhattan, Kansas	Active	[5]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Active	[5][7]
Missouri University of Science and Technology	Rolla, Missouri	Active	[5][8]
North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	Active	[5][9]
Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio	Active	[5]
Oregon State University	Corvallis, Oregon	Active	[5]
Pennsylvania State University	University Park, Pennsylvania	Active	[5][10]
Purdue University	West Lafayette, Indiana	Active	[5][11]
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Troy, New York	Active	[5]
South Carolina State University	Orangeburg, South Carolina	Active	[5][12]
Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	Active	[5][13]
United States Military Academy	West Point, New York	Active	[5][14]
United States Naval Academy	Annapolis, Maryland	Active	[5]
University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, California	Inactive	[5][15]
University of Florida	Gainesville, Florida	Inactive	[5][16]
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	Urbana, Illinois	Active	[5]
University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, Maryland	Inactive	[5]
University of Massachusetts Lowell	Lowell, Massachusetts	Inactive	[5][17]
University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Active	[5][18]
University of New Mexico	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Active	[5]
University of Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	Active	[5][19]
University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	Inactive	[5]
University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	Inactive	[5]
University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Inactive	[5]
Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Virginia	Inactive	[5]

Honorary members

As of spring 2020, the following table lists notable honorary members of Alpha Nu Sigma.

Name	Chapter	Year	Notability	References
Manson Benedict	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	1982	Chairman of the advisory committee to the United States Atomic Energy Commission;	[20]
Noel Corngold	New Jersey Institute of Technology	1984	Professor of physics at California Institute of Technology	[20]
Nils J. Diaz	University of Florida	2000	Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission	[20]
James J. Duderstadt	University of Michigan	1986	President of the University of Michigan	[20]
Joseph M. Hendrie	New Jersey Institute of Technology	1983	Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission	[20]
Norman Hilberry	University of Arizona	1993	Director of the Argonne National Laboratory	[20]
Henry Hurwitz	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	1983	Pioneered the theory and design of nuclear power plants	[20]
Herbert J.C. Kouts	New Jersey Institute of Technology	1983	Director of reactor safety research at the United States Atomic Energy Commission	[20]
W. Bennett Lewis	Iowa State University	1983	Directed the development of the CANDU reactor	[20]
Robert L. Long	National officers	1991	Commander of the United States Pacific Command	[20]
David J. Rose	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	1985	Professor of nuclear engineering at MIT	[20]
Frederick Seitz	University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	1991	President of the United States National Academy of Sciences	[20]
Chauncey Starr	Iowa State University	1983	Founded the Electric Power Research Institute	[20]
Edward Teller	Kansas State University	1989	Known as "the father of the hydrogen bomb"	[20]

See also

• American Nuclear Society