Utah State University has been included in the institutions to receive funding from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2009. The funding, provided to the NRC via Congress, will be used to boost nuclear education and expand the workforce in nuclear and nuclear-related disciplines.

 

Of the $2.9 million distributed by way of 102 scholarship grants, USU was awarded $199,341. Associate professor Barton Smith in the Department of Mechanical and Aerosapce Engineering was the leading researcher, or principal investigator, for the education grant. 

 

“This education grant will provide twelve $10,000 scholarships this year and six more next year to students interested in a career in nuclear engineering,” Smith said. “It will also allow students to perform nuclear-related research in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering labs with MAE faculty. The grant means that the NRC sees USU as a good source of nuclear engineers for the future, and our department sees nuclear research as a major area of focus over the next decade.”

 

USU faculty will also benefit from the $449,574 granted for faculty development. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department Head Byard Wood is principal investigator for the faculty development grant.

 

“As directed by the Congress, this funding provides broad benefits to the nuclear sector rather than solely benefitting the NRC,” NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko said. “These grants help develop a workforce capable of the design, construction, operation and regulation of nuclear facilities and the safe handling of nuclear materials.”

 

This year the agency expanded the number of institutions receiving grants from 60 to 70, and increased the number of grants to minority serving institutions by 67 percent.

 

The NRC awarded 102 grants for scholarships ($2.9 million) fellowships ($5.4 million), faculty development ($4.8 million), trade and community college scholarships ($1.8 million) and nuclear education and curriculum development ($4.8 million). Recipients are located in 29 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The proposal limit was $200,000. USU received awards at the upper limit, ranking among other prestigious schools such as Texas A&M University and Pennsylvania State University.

 

“The fact that we are listed alongside other prestigious universities is an indication of the visibility that USU’s MAE program has attained in the nuclear area,” said Smith. “The department has received a total of $2 million this year alone in nuclear related funding. This scholarship grant will put USU students front and center in the nuclear renaissance currently underway in the U.S.”

 

 

Writer: Jodi Burton, 435-797-1350, jodi.burton@aggiemail.usu.edu