NRC awards $10.7 million in academic grants

Education and workforce development: Congress has authorized the NRC to provide federal funding opportunities to qualified academic institutions to encourage careers and research in nuclear, mechanical, and electrical engineering, health physics, and related fields to meet expected future workforce needs. Since the grant program’s inception in 2009, the NRC has awarded 546 educational grants totaling more than $177 million.

“Quality education is critical for nuclear safety in the future, not to mention the exploration of new possibilities in nuclear science and technology,” said NRC chairman Christopher T. Hanson. “We are honored to award these grants to advance scientific research at these fine academic institutions.”

This year’s awardees: The recently awarded grants include seven undergraduate scholarships, one trade scholarship, 11 graduate fellowships, and 11 faculty development awards. The complete list of grants awarded and general information about the grant program are available on the NRC’s website.

The 26 institutions receiving grants are:

• Case Western Reserve University
• Colorado State University
• Columbia Basin College
• Florida International University
• Florida Memorial University
• Idaho State University
• Kansas State University
• Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Oregon State University
• Purdue University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Texas A&M University
• Thomas Edison State University
• University of Florida
• University of Idaho,
• University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
• University of Massachusetts–Lowell
• University of Missouri–Columbia
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of South Carolina
• University of Tennessee
• University of Texas–Austin
• University of Texas–San Antonio
• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

The financial support: Each undergraduate scholarship provides up to $20,000 in financial support to students over the course of the two-year program, and each graduate fellowship provides up to $200,000 over the course of the four-year program. The NRC’s trade and community college scholarships provide financial support of up to $10,000 to students over the course of the two-year program. The NRC’s faculty development awards provide up to $450,000 over a single three-year period.