U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing $20,000 in nuclear engineering scholarships to support two Thomas Edison State University students in the Heavin School of Arts, Sciences, and Technology.
Nuclear energy engineering students Richard Zealy and Brandon Burgess are TESU scholarship recipients who were awarded $10,000 each.
The awards are provided through the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) University Nuclear Leadership Program (UNLP) and include 61 undergraduate scholarships and 28 graduate fellowships for students at 32 colleges and universities in 23 states.
UNLP is investing in the next generation of leaders who will research innovative nuclear energy solutions to today’s climate challenges and help the United States meet the Biden Administration’s ambitious goals of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Nuclear energy currently provides about 20 percent of the country’s electricity, and 52 percent of its clean energy.
“The DOE support will empower the next generation of scientists and engineers and give them the tools they need to find nuclear energy solutions that ultimately lower emissions with even greater performance than today’s very capable technologies,” said Dr. Richard P. Coe, assistant dean in the Heavin School of Arts, Sciences, and Technology at the university. “This generous funding underscores the UNLP’s endorsement of our academic programs and the value they bring to the workforce.”
Through the UNLP, the DOE is awarding more than $5 million in undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships to students pursuing nuclear engineering degrees and other nuclear science and engineering programs relevant to nuclear energy. The awards include 59 scholarships at 4-year institutions, 1 scholarship at a 2-year institution, and 28 fellowships for students at U.S. colleges and universities. Through this program, undergraduates at 4-year institutions will receive $10,000 and undergraduates at 2-year institutions will receive $5,000 to help cover education costs for the upcoming year, while the three-year graduate fellowship provides $52,000 each year to help pay for graduate studies and research. Fellowships also include $5,000 to fund an internship at a U.S. national laboratory or other approved research facility to strengthen the ties between students and DOE’s energy research programs. Since 2009, DOE has awarded close to 929 scholarships and fellowships totaling approximately $55 million to students pursuing nuclear energy-related degrees. Prior to 2021, UNLP was known as Integrated University Program.
Toni M. Terry, BA