By Vesna Sossi, IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society, 2024 President
The first activity on record in the nuclear and plasma sciences field was the formation of a Nuclear Studies Committee in the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) in 1947 to determine the proper role of the IRE in this new technical field. Subsequently, in 1949, the Professional Group on Nuclear Science (PGNS) was formed, marking the early origins of the IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS).
1950s Brings Attention to the Field of NPSS
The new organization became visible on a number of fronts in the early 1950s including having a strong impact on the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Early in the 1950s, the PGNS became a co-sponsor of the Scintillation Counter Symposium, which has now merged into the Nuclear Science Symposium. 1954 also marks the first issue of the Transactions on Nuclear Science. The next milestone dates to 1963-reflecting the merger of IRE and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) into IEEE, the IRE PGNS merged with the AIEE Nucleonics Committee and the Committee on Nucleonic and Radiation Instruments to become the Nuclear Science Group of the IEEE.
In 1972, two major events occurred: the scope was widened to include the plasma science field, and the group was given Society status, with the NPSS being officially formed under its present name. 1973 saw the debut of a second publication, the Transactions on Plasma Science.
NPSS Today
NPSS is comprised of eight technical areas (Computer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Science, Fusion Technology, Nuclear Medical and Imaging Science, Particle Accelerator Science and Technology, Plasma Science and Applications, Pulsed Power Science and Technology, Radiation Effects, Radiation Instrumentation) with a common focus on electromagnetic radiation in its many facets: production, measurement, utilization in several applications, and study of its damage. Over the years, the Society has inaugurated or assumed responsibility for a number of conferences with increasing geographical reach, now held in all ten IEEE regions. It additionally co-sponsors two more publications, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging and IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences.
Contributions to Technology, Science, Education, and Society
Several impactful contributions have been made by NPSS over the years. For example, NPSS established the CAMAC and FASTBUS standards, which then impacted the still currently widely used VME and microTCA standards, the latter in collaboration with the Telecom industry. The development of new detectors and detector materials has fundamentally impacted research and applications in radiation detection, medical imaging, homeland security, high energy physics, geophysics, and others. Medical imaging, both instrumentation and algorithms, has revolutionized the management of disease and opened new career paths for engineers, while advancements in pulsed power science have led to an explosion of applications in agriculture, medicine, defense, materials, and energy. In 2022, the National Ignition Facility at LLNL demonstrated the first ignition, opening the door to an explosion of venture-funded investments in fusion. Plasma medicine is emerging as a new field of research that combines plasma physics, life sciences, and clinical medicine to use ionized gas for medical purposes.
An NPSS flagship in education and outreach is the NPSS instrumentation schools held in several under-represented countries. Besides serving an educational purpose, they also offer opportunities to increase the geographical diversity of NPSS activities by establishing new collaborations. A newly funded initiative provides funds for selected students to attend an NPSS conference. NPSS also strongly believes in the value of humanitarian activities and is one of the two strongest IEEE supporters of IEEE Smart Village. Women in Engineering, Young Professionals, and DEI activities are also a very high priority for our Society, and events in these areas are regularly held at NPSS-sponsored meetings.
