"INEEL THE environmental laboratory"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 1998
The Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (DOE-NE) has established the Nuclear Engineering Education Research (NEER) Program to award special research grants that support nuclear engineering research.
Awards to 19 universities were recently announced. Research on the projects will begin this summer. The total first-year funding for the 19 projects is $2.04 million. A total of 99 proposals were received in the competition for the grants.
Eligibility for awards under this program was restricted to colleges and universities with nuclear engineering degree programs or options. The purpose of the NEER program is to (1) support basic research in nuclear engineering; (2) assist in developing nuclear engineering students, and (3) contribute to strengthening the academic community's nuclear engineering infrastructure.
NEER grants are directed to state-of-the-art research that contributes to the following eight areas: reactor physics reactor engineering, reactor materials, radiological engineering, radioactive waste management, applied radiation science, nuclear safety and risk analysis, and innovative technologies for next generation reactors, space power and propulsion, or radiation sources.
DOE-NE plans to solicit applications for another group of NEER grants in October, if funding is received for the next fall fiscal year. Research on the next group of projects would commence during the summer of 1999.
Following is a list of the universities that received grants. Some universities may have been awarded more than one grant.
Ohio State University, the University of Florida, the University of Virginia, Texas A&M University, University of Michigan, University of Missouri Rolla, University of Missouri Columbia, Pennsylvania State University, University of New Mexico, University of California Los Angeles, University of Cincinnati, Northwestern University, North Carolina State University, University of California Berkeley, University of Texas Austin and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Examples of some of the research projects are: Intelligent Automated Nuclear Fuel Pellet Inspection System conducted by the University of Missouri Rolla; Just-In-Time Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants conducted by Texas A&M University; and Reliable Wireless Data Acquisition and Control Techniques Within Nuclear Hot Cell Facilities conducted by the University of Florida.
-- INEEL --
Media contact: Isabel Valle-Carpenter, (208) 526-9906, miv@inel.gov
98-34
* U.S. Department of Energy * Idaho Operations Office * 785 DOE Place * Idaho Falls, ID 83401-1562 *