History of RSICC
Established in 1962 as the Radiation Shielding Information Center (RSIC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, RSICC's mission is to provide in-depth coverage of the radiation transport field to meet the needs of the international shielding community. RSICC collects, organizes, evaluates and disseminates technical information involving shielding and protection from the radiation associated with fission and fusion reactors, outer space, accelerators, weapons, medical facilities, and nuclear waste management. The Center provides in-depth coverage of radiation transport topics:
- Radiation production and sources
- Criticality safety
- Radiation protection and shielding Radiation detectors and measurements
- Shielding materials properties Radiation waste management
- Shields and shipping cask design Radiation safety and assessment
- Atmospheric dispersion and environmental dose
In addition to processing requests for software, RSICC staff members provide technical consultations with requesters to resolve discrepancies, assist in installation, and answer technical inquires on radiation transport matters.
In support of a number of government-sponsored programs, RSICC
- Collects, maintains, analyzes, and distributes technical computing software in the areas of shielding and transport
- Provides technical assistance to the user
- Publishes and distributes a monthly Newsletter to announce corrections, updates, or new packages as well as to notify the shielding community of items of interest
- Conducts seminar-workshops on computing methods and codes systems of particular interest to the user community
- Participates in the "Cooperative Arrangement Between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Field of Nuclear Data and Computer Programs" through international software exchange
- Works closely with the DOE Energy Science and Technology Software Center to avoid overlap and duplication of effort in software development and distribution
Maintains computerized databases of abstracted shielding information selected for inclusion by technical analysts
- Exchanges visits and guests assignments with shielding installations throughout the world to collect and share shielding technology for mutual benefit
In August 1996, RSIC was renamed to the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC). The change was prompted by the scope of computer code technology at the center (i.e. radiation transport and safety). In addition, RSICC's computer hardware has expanded and staff continue to have access to other major computing centers in the analysis and testing of software.