NRC stakeholder meeting on UNLP coming up next week
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host a “comment-gathering meeting” for stakeholders involved with the agency’s University Nuclear Leadership Program (UNLP) so that NRC staff can understand their views and concerns.
The virtual meeting will take place on October 31, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (EDT). Participants may teleconference in (301/576-2978; conference ID 625070809#) or attend through the webinar.
The NRC is asking participants to RSVP by Friday, October 25, to Anita Chan at 301/415-7245 or anita.chan@nrc.gov.
The meeting: According to the NRC, the purpose of the meeting is the following:
- To provide an overview and collect feedback of the overall progress of the UNLP that develops the future nuclear workforce through educational and research grants.
- To provide an opportunity for applicants, grantees, and other key stakeholders of the UNLP to share their views and experiences with the overall program progress.
- To share perspectives from institutions of higher education, national laboratories, and industry on the design and implementation of a traineeship subprogram mandated by the recently passed Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act.
Meeting notes: The first part of the meeting will be devoted to discussing the overall progress of the program; the second part will cover the new traineeship subprogram. Each portion will begin with a brief presentation from NRC staff and will include a moderated discussion for all participants.
The meeting will be recorded, and slides will be made available online.
Added detail: The NRC, the Department of Energy, and the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) all administer parts of the UNLP.
The three programs are each funded at $16 million per year and work with universities in some ways to support students entering into nuclear-related fields.
The NRC’s program differs from the DOE and NMSS programs in that DOE selects and funds students directly at approved universities/programs, while the NMSS funds consortiums of universities that support student research. The NRC’s program has been in existence since 2009 and works specifically with universities to fund scholarships, fellowships, faculty advancement, and research and development.
Additional information along with executive summaries for past NRC grant recipients can be found on its website.
