The regulatory research program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) addresses issues in the three arenas of nuclear reactors, nuclear materials, and radioactive waste. The research program is designed to improve the agency's knowledge where uncertainty exists, where safety margins are not well-characterized, and where regulatory decisions need to be confirmed in existing or new designs and technologies. The NRC's annual Regulatory Information Conference (RIC) provides a forum for presentations and discussions about the agency's research activities. Information gained from the research program is documented in our NUREG-series publications and is used in developing regulatory guides. Some of these publications provide documentation and information on the use of technical computer codes that are used in research, modeling, and analysis.

For more information on research activities see the following:

For information related to long-term research, please see a recent report entitled U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Long-Term Research: FY 2009 Activities.