Published July 20, 2023
By Christine Reed
The Nuclear Energy Research Center (NERC) in the School of Energy Resources is seeking proposals from current University of Wyoming employees to develop a Faculty Scholars Program and to support professional development travel opportunities for nuclear-related research.
NERC has opened the two funding opportunities to expand the accessibility of interested UW staff, faculty and students to networks and collaboration prospects among the nuclear research community. The center is focused on building research capacity related to nuclear energy at UW.
The Faculty Scholars Program is open only to pre-tenured faculty members, and any UW campus community member may apply for professional development travel grants.
“We have been working hard to build up support among our contacts, national partnerships and regional collaborations on the nuclear front, as well as funding to support those efforts,” says Caleb Hill, co-director of NERC. “This is our chance to infuse some of the funding that we have received into the UW research community to further develop that expertise and expand those networks.”
The Faculty Scholars Program is supported by a grant from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and funds provided by the Wyoming Legislature and Gov. Mark Gordon’s office. It focuses on developing new areas of nuclear-centric research and supporting junior faculty advancement.
Selected faculty for the program will be designated as NERC-affiliated faculty and will be provided with one month’s summer salary to support development of grant proposals related to the research project. Travel funding also will be available to present related work at professional conferences and to engage with external stakeholders.
NERC will support two faculty scholar awards for the 2023-24 academic year.
For professional development travel grants, NERC has allocated $15,000 to support up to 50 percent of travel and course fee and registration costs for nuclear-relevant professional development, including certifications, attendance at conferences or meetings, training courses and similar professional development activities. Funding is to support new professional development, and awards will not be made for travel related to presentations of current research.
Applicants interested in either opportunity should submit proposals by email to NERC co-Directors Tara Righetti at tara.righetti@uwyo.edu or Hill at caleb.hill@uwyo.edu. The subject line indicated in the full request for proposals and additional information can be found here.
Proposals for the Faculty Scholars Program will be accepted through Sept. 1, and proposals for the professional development travel grants will be accepted until all funds are allocated.
