The U.S. Department of Energy has chosen nine University of Illinois students – eight from NPRE and one from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department – to receive scholarships of $5,000 each.
The awards are part of the Nuclear Energy Universities Program (NEUP) the DOE has initiated to support the next generation of American nuclear energy development.
NPRE undergraduates Jonathan George of Bolingbrook, Illinois; Timothy P. Grunloh of Teutopolis, Illinois; and Jon B. Hansen of O’Fallon, Illinois, are repeat winners, having been awarded the scholarships a year ago, as well. Other NPRE undergraduate recipients this year are Kenneth A. Saunders of Princeton, Illinois; Jeffrey M. Schappaugh of Petersburg, Illinois; Peter R. Fiflis of Indian Head Park, Illinois; Ryan L. Kent of the Woodlands, Texas; and Leo E. Kirsch of Frankfort, Illinois. ECE undergraduate Donald E. Hillebrand of Romeoville, Illinois, also received an NEUP scholarship.
Increasing the number of students entering the nuclear science and engineering fields is a key goal for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Demand for workers in those areas is growing and about half of the nuclear industry’s workforce will be eligible to retire in the next 10 years, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. If the United States is to stay competitive, it must keep the pipeline of workers filled.
NEUP’s goals and objectives are to support outstanding, cutting-edge and innovative research at U.S. universities by:
- Attracting the brightest students to the nuclear profession and supporting the nation's intellectual capital in nuclear engineering and relevant nuclear science, such as health physics, radiochemistry and applied nuclear physics.
- Integrating research and development (R&D) at universities, national laboratories and industry to revitalize nuclear education.
- Improving university and college infrastructures for conducting R&D and educating students.
- Facilitating the transfer of knowledge from the aging nuclear workforce to the next generation of workers.