BOSTON, MA – U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman today announced that DOE will award up to $340,000 in fellowships to eight graduate student fellows to advance research in the nuclear fuel cycle.  These awards build on President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative, which seeks to meet the growing demand for nuclear-educated scientists and engineers.  Fellowships are valued at up to $42,500 per student over two academic years and are part of the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) - a program within DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy – aimed at increasing research into closing the nuclear fuel cycle and recycling components of used nuclear reactor fuel.

“These fellowships further President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative by providing our best and brightest students with the education and tools necessary to continue to lead the world in opportunity and innovation,” Secretary Bodman said.  “We commend these graduate students for their study of the nuclear fuel cycle at our nation’s universities.  The academic community as well as our national laboratories and industry have been vital to increasing scientific know-how, developing advanced nuclear technology and helping to reestablish nuclear power in the United States.”

AFCI fellowships are awarded annually to students who plan to pursue research in technical areas related to the separation of nuclear waste components, the fabrication of these components into recycled fuel, and the preparation of new waste forms with increased long-term stability.  This research furthers the Global Nuclear Energy Partnerships (GNEP), announced last year by President Bush, which supports the expansion of nuclear power in the world while reducing the risks of weapons proliferation, and increasing the efficiency of waste recycling programs.

Selected AFCI fellows are full-time students who have an interest in advanced fuel cycle research and who are pursuing master’s degrees in nuclear engineering, applied physics, or other fields of science and engineering relevant to the GNEP or AFCI missions.  This summer, the new AFCI fellows will visit DOE Headquarters in Washington to become better acquainted with the AFCI program, and many will have summer jobs at DOE national laboratories before entering graduate school in the fall.

Selected AFCI fellows include:

• Brett Dooies, University of Florida, nuclear engineering
• Eddie “Trey” Holik, Texas A&M University, applied physics
• Brendan Kochunas, University of California-Berkeley, reactor physics
• Kyle Oliver, University of Wisconsin, nuclear engineering
• Kathryn Wright, Texas A&M University, nuclear engineering
• Shen Zang, North Carolina State University, nuclear engineering
• Shannon Yee, Ohio State University, nuclear engineering
• Shadi Ghrayeb, Graduate University Currently Undecided, nuclear science and engineering

Additional information is available on DOE’s nuclear energy programs and on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.

Media contact(s):
Angela Hill, (202) 586-4940