The University of Tennessee received $146,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to study missions to Mars and beyond.
UT received one of 47 Nuclear Engineering Education Research grants awarded to 28 universities in competition in the United States which will allow professors and students to continue nuclear engineering research.
“This year’s grants continue an upward trend in support of education that has been a hallmark of this administration,” Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said in a media release.
“The investment we make today in the education of a new generation of nuclear engineers and scientists will pay tremendous dividends in the future of this country,” Abraham said. “With our UT and Battelle partners, the Department of Energy has a special responsibility for the future of science in America and for a scientifically literate workforce.”
Belle Upadhyaya, professor of nuclear engineering, and his graduate students will receive $100,000 of the grant for the research, Harold L. Dodds, head of the nuclear engineering department, said.
Upadhyaya will receive the bulk of the grant to fund research on nuclear power systems that may be used in the space program, Dodds said.
“Upadhyaya will address autonomous control of space nuclear power systems,” he said.
This year’s $146,000 package is the first installment of the grant. The university will receive $100,000 every year for the next three years.
Dodds said the $46,000 remainder will go directly to students in the form of scholarships and fellowships. A small portion of the money could also be used for new equipment such as new computers to aid with research.
The study of nuclear engineering is still relatively undeveloped and research is important to add to its knowledge base and its applications, students say.
“I don’t know much about UT getting grants, but in a field such as this, continuing research is imperative,” Jennifer Carney, sophomore in nuclear engineering said. “It (nuclear engineering) is a very selective field because, although it is expanding, the applications of it are still somewhat limited.”
