A material objective: RTEs are directed at understanding material behavior under irradiation to develop more resilient materials for nuclear applications, and awards for this call focus on improving the performance and safety of materials in nuclear environments. Key studies include mitigating stress corrosion in stainless steel, enhancing reactor performance of silicon carbide (SiC), and investigating the irradiation effects on advanced alloys.
The NSUF recipients do not receive direct financial awards. Instead, recipients get access to capabilities such as experimental irradiation testing, postirradiation examination, and beamlines. They also get technical assistance to design and complete their projects.
Recipients: Research proposals were competitively selected and evaluated on a variety of factors, including technical approach, mission relevance, and scientific-technical merit. The recent round of awards went to researchers from two companies—Oklo and TerraPower; three national laboratories—Idaho National Laboratory (four awards), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (two awards); and 13 universities—Boise State University, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Texas A&M University, United States Naval Academy, University of Florida (two awards), University of Huddersfield (U.K.), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (two awards), University of Oxford (U.K.), and University of Pittsburgh.
More on NSUF RTEs: A second RTE call for fiscal year 2025 opened on June 18, and proposals must be submitted by 6:00 p.m. (EDT) on July 16. View current and past awards here.
