Journal profile · Nuclear Science & Technology
Nuclear Science and Engineering
ISSN 0029-5639 · eISSN 1943-748X · American Nuclear Society · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1956
Nuclear Science and Engineering: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.13; hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 136 days to acceptance (105 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 253 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Nuclear Science and Engineering is published by American Nuclear Society and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Nuclear reactor physics and engineering, Nuclear Physics and Applications and Nuclear Materials and Properties, together about 60.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Nuclear Science and Engineering is the oldest peer-reviewed journal in its field. Our aim now is the same as when we started in 1956, to be the leading source of information on fundamental and applied research in all scientific areas related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for the benefit of all. We publish research articles, notes, review articles, rapid communications, letters to the editor, addendums, and corrections. Research articles present original contributions to the field of knowledge. Notes are contributions narrowly focused on a specific research subject or are minor extensions of previous works. Review articles combine a focused topical overview with an extensive literature review to critically evaluate the state-of-the-art, but do not necessarily add new knowledge to the field. Rapid communications report fast-breaking research, after accelerated review, of high and immediate interest to the journal readership. Letters to the editor are miscellaneous correspondence to the journal’s editorial office that is not specifically a comment on or response to a published article. Addendum describes published work that adds additional information or clarification to another work. The title may include “Addendum” with the related article that is the subject of the addendum mentioned. Corrections are modifications or corrections of errors in previously published material. We welcome submissions that explore basic and applied research in all areas related to nuclear science and engineering, including fundamental theory, experiments, and computational methods to understand complex phenomena in nuclear systems. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following topics: Atomic and nuclear physics related to nuclear systems Reactor physics, analysis, and design Nuclear data and cross-section processing Neutral and charged particle transport Thermal hydraulics and fluid flow Multiphysics multiscale methods and simulation Space reactors, accelerator-driven reactors, and research/test reactors Fuel cycle analysis and fuel management Shielding and in-core and ex-core analysis Probabilistic safety analysis and risk assessment Criticality safety Verification and validation; uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis Radioactive waste management and analysis Nonproliferation, verification, and safeguards Computational medical physics Health physics and radiation dosimetry Radioisotope production and radiochemistry Nuclear materials and fuels Appl
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Nuclear Science & Technology
Editor-in-chief Farzad RahnemaPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 10, France 1, Italy 1, Brazil 1 (13 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Nuclear reactor physics and engineeringEngineering29.4%
- Nuclear Physics and ApplicationsPhysics and Astronomy18.6%
- Nuclear Materials and PropertiesMaterials Science12.3%
- Graphite, nuclear technology, radiation studiesMaterials Science6.4%
- Nuclear and radioactivity studiesEngineering4.5%
- Nuclear Engineering Thermal-HydraulicsEngineering4.5%
- Radiation Detection and Scintillator TechnologiesPhysics and Astronomy3.2%
- Nuclear physics research studiesPhysics and Astronomy3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Nuclear Science & Technology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Nuclear Science & Technology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Nuclear Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of SciencePubMedCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, INIS Collection Search
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.13LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.55LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.55Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.21LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.21Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 53LetPub ·
- h-index
- 120OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,312OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.11OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10.07%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 244LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 196,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 11,178 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 221 | 61 | 33 |
| 2025 | 253 | 58 | 274 |
| 2024 | 203 | 54 | 444 |
| 2023 | 240 | 82 | 977 |
| 2022 | 160 | 69 | 985 |
| 2021 | 97 | 33 | 650 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
136 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 93 days – 182 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 44 days (106 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 190 days
- Sample
- 105 articles with submission and acceptance dates (507 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 57%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 52 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 71 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted7
- addendumAddendum describes published work that adds additional information or clarification to another work.Length not stated
- correctionsCorrections are modifications or corrections of errors in previously published material.Length not stated
- letters to the editorLetters to the editor are miscellaneous correspondence to the journal’s editorial office that is not specifically a comment on or response to a published articl…Length not stated
- notesNotes are contributions narrowly focused on a specific research subject or are minor extensions of previous works.Length not stated
- rapid communicationsRapid communications report fast-breaking research, after accelerated review, of high and immediate interest to the journal readership.Length not stated
- research articlesResearch articles present original contributions to the field of knowledge.Length not stated
- review articlesReview articles combine a focused topical overview with an extensive literature review to critically evaluate the state-of-the-art, but do not necessarily add n…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access, Peer review
- Publication ethics
Publishing ethics statement. Model summary
The Journal adheres to the highest standards of publishing ethics, with rigorous processes in place to ensure this is achieved.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Nuclear Science and Engineering is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverabi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review is single-anonymized. Model summary
Once your article has been assessed for suitability by the editor, it will be single-anonymized peer reviewed by expert referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- American Nuclear Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1956
- ISSN
- 0029-5639
- Electronic ISSN
- 1943-748X
- Society / sponsor
- American Nuclear Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 200, Issue 11 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Nuclear Science and Engineering
What CAS zone is Nuclear Science and Engineering in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Nuclear Science and Engineering is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Nuclear Science & Technology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Nuclear Science and Engineering?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.13; CiteScore 2.7, h-index 120.
How long does peer review take at Nuclear Science and Engineering?
Based on the dates recorded on 105 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 136 days (interquartile range 93–182 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 57%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Nuclear Science and Engineering based?
Of the 13 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (10), France (1) and Italy (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Nuclear Science and Engineering?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Nuclear Science and Engineering is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, PubMed, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Nuclear Science and Engineering open access, and what is the APC?
Nuclear Science and Engineering is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .