Daniel Poneman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, said $3.1 million will go to three research projects at Georgia Tech focused on developing new and advanced nuclear reactor designs and technologies, while addressing their cost, safety and security.

The money will also fund research examining new fuel and core designs as well as two undergraduate scholarships and three graduate student fellowships. With the support of this program, students will receive financial support to pursue a degree in the nuclear field and gain the skills and experiences they need to succeed in a nuclear science and engineering career.

"This funding will help Georgia Tech and the country to enhance the quality of nuclear education and research in order to support the development of the next generation of nuclear workforce, technology and research," said Farzad Rahnema, chair of the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics Programs at Georgia Tech. 

Undergraduate students will receive a $5,000 scholarship, while fellowship winners will receive $50,000 annually over the next three years in addition to a summer internship at a National Laboratory. The selected students will study a breadth of critical nuclear energy issues, from fuel cycle sustainability to reactor efficiency and design.

The three research projects in the College of Engineering that were funded include: "Uncertainty Quantification and Management for Multiscale Nuclear Materials Modeling," David McDowell, PI; "Nonlinear Ultrasonic Techniques to Monitor Radiation damage in RPV and Internal Components," Lawrence Jacobs, PI; and "Fuel and Core Design Options to Overcome the Heavy Metal Loading Limit,and Improve Performance and Safety of Liquid Salt Cooled Reactors," Bojan Petrovic, PI.