Ohio Leads Country In Nuclear Education Grants; Ohio State To Share In $20 Million

Ohio State University will receive more than $1 million in grants from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to boost nuclear education and expand the workforce for nuclear energy.

The grants are part of nearly $20 million that the NRC awarded to 60 institutions nationwide last week.

Ohio institutions garnered more than $1.7 million in NRC education funding total -- the most of any state for FY 2008.

Ohio State received four awards to fund its Nuclear Engineering Program:

$450,000 for faculty development, to support two junior faculty positions. $372,763.00 for a fellowship program to support graduate students. $199,460.00 for a scholarship program to support undergraduates who pursue a minor in nuclear engineering. $80,000 in second-year funding for nuclear engineering course development; the university received $400,000 in first-year funding for this purpose in 2007. In addition, of the $140,000 that the NRC has awarded to Wilberforce University this year, Ohio State will receive a $60,000 subcontract to assist Wilberforce in the development of its undergraduate nuclear engineering minor program.

"One of the greatest challenges of our time lies in our ability to secure reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for future generations," said Gregory Washington, associate dean for research and professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. Washington is also the interim director of the university's Institute for Energy and Environment -- a campus-wide organization that coordinates energy and environmental research on campus.

"One of the greatest challenges of our time lies in our ability to secure reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for future generations."

"With the world's energy consumption expected to double by 2030, access to clean and affordable energy will drive the economic and political future of this planet," he said. "The OSU energy and environmental infrastructure is committed to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge that will enable the next generation of scientific breakthroughs."

Contact: Pam Frost Gorder, (614) 292-9475; Gorder.1@osu.edu.