No: 23-050 August 22, 2023 

CONTACT: Ivonne Couret, 301-415-8200 

NRC Awards Nearly $11 Million in Education Grants Supporting 

Nuclear Science and Engineering Fields

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today it has awarded 26 grants to 

23 academic institutions, including three minority-serving institutions, in 20 states, totaling 

nearly $11 million. 

“These awards are vital to advancing nuclear science and research at academic 

institutions across the United States,” said NRC Regulatory Research Director Ray Furstenau. 

“The program continues to educate students and develop faculty to strengthen the nuclear 

workforce to meet the future needs for highly skilled engineers and scientists.” 

The University Nuclear Leadership Program provides federal funding opportunities to 

qualified academic institutions to bolster nuclear engineering and related programs. 

These grants include five undergraduate scholarships, 13 graduate fellowships, and 

eight distinguished faculty advancement awards. Each undergraduate scholarship provides up to 

$20,000 in financial support to students over the course of the three-year program, and each 

graduate fellowship provides up to $50,000 to students over the course of the four-year program. 

The NRC’s distinguished faculty advancement awards provide up to $600,000 over a four-year 

period. 

Type of Award University City/State Award 

Amount

Distinguished Faculty Advancement Florida International University Miami, Florida $599,290

Distinguished Faculty Advancement Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia $600,000

Distinguished Faculty Advancement Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York $600,000

Distinguished Faculty Advancement University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan $600,000

Distinguished Faculty Advancement University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada $600,000

Distinguished Faculty Advancement University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New 

Mexico $600,000

Distinguished Faculty Advancement University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, Wisconsin $600,000

Distinguished Faculty Advancement University of Wyoming Laramie, Wyoming $600,000

Fellowship Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado $400,000

Fellowship Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia $400,000

Fellowship Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York $400,000

Fellowship The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio $400,000

Fellowship University of Illinois at Urbana - 

Champaign Champaign, Urbana $400,000
Page | 2

Since the program’s inception in 2009, the NRC has awarded 602 educational grants 

totaling more than $190 million, of which 109 were awarded to minority-serving institutions. 

This funding has benefitted more than 176 individual faculty members and 4,800 students 

located in 39 states and Puerto Rico. 

The complete list of grants awarded and general information about the grant program are 

available on the NRC’s website. The NRC announces grant opportunities on www.grants.gov, 

which enables the public to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. Current funding 

opportunities for NRC educational grants can be found on both websites.

Fellowship University of Missouri S&T -

(Rolla) Rolla, Missouri $400,000

Fellowship University of Nevada - Reno Reno, Nevada $399,998

Fellowship University of New Haven West Haven, Connecticut $400,000

Fellowship University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania $400,000

Fellowship University of Texas - Austin Austin, Texas $398,135

Fellowship University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia $400,000

Fellowship University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, Wisconsin $399,980

Fellowship Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 

State University Blacksburg, Virginia $400,000

Scholarship Idaho State University Pocatello, Idaho $197,009

Scholarship Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon $200,000

Scholarship Thomas Edison State University Trenton, New Jersey $200,000

Scholarship University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, Wisconsin $200,000

Scholarship Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, 

Massachusetts $199,540

Total Total $10,993,950