Atomic Energy Commission

American  

noun

1. a former federal agency (1946–75) created to regulate the development of the U.S. atomic energy program: functions transferred to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. AEC

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Atomic Energy Commission British  

noun

1.  AEC.  (in the US) a federal board established in 1946 to administer and develop domestic atomic energy programmes

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Atomic Energy Commission Cultural  

1. An agency of the United States government from 1946 to 1974 that was charged with controlling and developing the use of atomic energy for civilian and military purposes. In 1974, the AEC was abolished, and its duties were divided between two new agencies: the Energy Research and Development Administration (now a part of the Department of Energy) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Atomic Energy Commission

The war wasn’t long over before Truman supported legislation establishing the Atomic Energy Commission to regulate nuclear technology, swallow the Manhattan Project infrastructure and take custody of America’s modest atomic arsenal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

When he was chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Lewis Strauss — the Robert Downey Jr. character in “Oppenheimer” — predicted in 1954 that our children would enjoy nuclear power “too cheap to meter.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025

Atomic Energy Commission member Lewis Strauss, and who’s been nominated twice before without winning.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024

She spoke out against investigations against her fellow scientists during the wave of McCarthyism that spread across the US, and she even wrote to the Atomic Energy Commission to complain about the proceedings.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 24, 2023

On June 29, 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted 4 to 1 to revoke J. Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance, one day before it would have expired anyway.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik