UW School of Energy Resources to Provide New Funding for Nuclear-Related Research Proposals

The School of Energy Resources (SER) is requesting proposals from University of Wyoming faculty and staff members on nuclear-related research projects exploring Wyoming’s full fuel cycle and continued capacity building.

The funding can be for stand-alone projects up to $125,000 to support students working on the projects; postdoctoral researchers; faculty summer salaries; travel; or cost-share for externally funded grant proposals. Priority will be given to projects that use the funds as seed funding and align with the priorities of federal, private industry or philanthropic sources and are focused on topics relevant to Wyoming.

The deadline for proposal submissions is Friday, Jan. 31. The selected projects will be notified by Saturday, Feb. 15.

“Through the leadership of our Nuclear Energy Research Center, we have made significant headway in growing nuclear capacity at UW,” says Scott Quillinan, SER senior director of research. “We’ve expanded our academic offerings for students, been successful in bringing in competitive funding to support nuclear programs at UW and identified individuals on campus who are now working collaboratively on nuclear-related projects. This request for proposals will allow other research at UW to build on that established foundation.”

The opportunity will fund projects through August 2027 covering three research areas:

-- The first will be to evaluate the fuel cycle value chain and advanced materials. This can be accomplished through either addressing challenges within the nuclear fuel cycle or on research involving advanced materials designed to withstand extreme conditions associated with nuclear energy production.

-- The second is focused on general research and nuclear energy capacity building that align with U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunities and other sources. This area prioritizes research and personnel support aimed at producing comprehensive studies, innovative data or significant contributions that will position UW for sponsored research in alignment with the build-out of Wyoming’s nuclear industry.

-- The third encompasses research and outreach activities centered on workforce development and community engagement to support Wyoming’s nuclear energy sector. Projects may include social science research related to educational programming, training initiatives and efforts to raise public awareness to advance the nuclear energy build-out or uranium mining in Wyoming.

Selected proposals will be expected to provide SER with quarterly deliverables for the duration of the projects.

For more information about the request and for application submissions, download the full request for proposals form by clicking here.

Proposals should be emailed to Tiffany Bishop, SER project specialist, at tbishop6@uwyo.edu with the subject “Wyoming Nuclear Full Fuel Cycle,” along with any other questions.