ICONE 10 will present session on terrorism

The 10th International Nuclear Conference on Engineering (ICONE 10), to be held next month in Arlington, Va., will feature a special session on nuclear terrorism — a topic on the minds of many nuclear engineers in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The session, "The Nuclear Terrorism Threat: A Realistic and Pragmatic Assessment," will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 15. The talk, open to the public, will include presentations from experts who will attempt to assess the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Speakers who have been invited to the session include Dale Klein, Robert Nickell and Ken Sorenson.

Klein, the assistant U.S. Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Biological Defense Programs and an ASME Fellow, is expected to talk on the topic "Can Terrorists Obtain Nuclear Weapons or the Materials to Make One?"

Nickell, president of Applied Science & Technology, an ASME Fellow and a former ASME President, will give a presentation on the safety of nuclear containment facilities.

Sorenson, manager of Sandia National Lab's transportation risk and packaging department, has been invited to speak on the topic "Transporting Nuclear Materials: How Safe Is It?"

Other special events planned for April 15 include keynote addresses from Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho; Tokio Kanoh, a member of Japan's House of Councilors, and Nils Diaz, commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Also scheduled during the conference are several plenary sessions addressing such subjects as regulatory issues, the growth potential for nuclear power, advanced systems and the public acceptance of nuclear power.

There also will be a conference banquet on the evening of April 16 featuring a talk by ASME Honorary Member John Lienhard, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Houston, plus entertainment by the Galileo Players, an engineering sketch comedy troupe.

Registration for ICONE 10 is $695 for members of ASME and cooperating societies, $895 for nonmembers. Registration after March 25 will cost all attendees $100 more.

ASME student members may register for the conference free of charge. Registration for nonmember students is $100. Retired ASME Life Members may register for $25.

To find out more about ICONE 10, visit www.asmeconferences. org/icone10, or contact ASME Information Central, (800) 843-2763 or (973) 882-1167, e-mail: infocentral@asme.org.

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