DATE: August 20, 2008
CONTACT:
Timothy DeVol, 864-656-1014
devol@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Susan Polowczuk, 864-656-2063
spolowc@clemson.edu
Nuclear Regulatory Commission awards more than $500,000 to Clemson
CLEMSON — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has awarded more than $500,000 in grants to Clemson University’s environmental engineering and earth sciences department to help broaden the pool of candidates needed in the environmental and safety arena of a burgeoning nuclear industry.
The U.S. NRC Nuclear Education Fellowship Grant is for $398,932, awarded to scientists Timothy DeVol, Robert Fjeld and Brian Powell.
“Because of a renewed interest in nuclear power in this country and the world, this grant will be used for funding graduate students who will become the next-generation nuclear workforce, specifically in radioactive waste disposal, radiochemistry and the environmental aspects of nuclear power generation,” said DeVol. “Expertise in these areas is a critical issue because of attrition as well as possible expansion of the nuclear power industry. Nuclear power is one part of an integrated approach to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and strive toward energy security.”
The NRC awarded a second grant of $125,151 for nuclear education and curriculum development with a goal of understanding and protecting the public and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation.
“The Nuclear Education and Curriculum Development Grant that we received last year was used to update much needed radiation-detection and measurement equipment for the teaching laboratories,” said DeVol. “This year, we’ll be developing a new course as well as expanding another course with advanced portable radiation spectroscopy systems that will be purchased with the grant. Grants like these keep our students at the cutting edge of technology but with a fundamental understanding of the underlying principles.”
The Nuclear Environmental Engineering and Science (NEES) program is a graduate-only academic program established in the 1980s within the department of environmental engineering and earth sciences at Clemson. It is a combination of classroom and laboratory instruction and research. The NEES program focuses on the environmental aspects of nuclear technologies, including environmental health physics, radioactive waste processing, environmental risk assessment, environmental radioactivity, radiation detection and measurement, environmental radiochemistry and environmental remediation. For additional details, go to http://www.ces.clemson.edu/eees/programareas.htm
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