Idaho State University to receive $264,000 in grants for student scholarships from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has awarded the Idaho State University College of Science and Engineering and the ISU College of Technology each grants for student scholarships totaling $264,150 for the 2010-11 academic year.

The larger grant, $172,150, has been given for ISU’s Nuclear Education Scholarship Program for eight undergraduate education scholarships for nuclear engineering in the School of Engineering and in health physics in the Department of Physics. This total is broken into $159,120 for traditional scholarship line items such as tuition, fees, health insurance and stipend and $13,030 for educational opportunities outside the university environment. 

This is the second consecutive year the nuclear engineering and health physics programs have received NRC scholarship grants. These programs will award a total of 15 scholarships during the 2010-11 academic year, using a combination of the first and second grants.            

"It's a very exciting time in the world of nuclear science and engineering,” said Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar, ISU assistant professor of nuclear engineering. “NRC-funded scholarships are just one more indication that people with a solid background in nuclear are sorely needed.  At ISU, our students receive a great education in an accredited program and upon graduation are rewarded with numerous job opportunities." 

The application process for these scholarships will be highly competitive.  Students are required to be U.S. citizens, have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (overall and in major), maintain full-time student status and matriculation in the ISU Nuclear Engineering baccalaureate program.  Applicants will also be asked to provide a personal statement of career interests and goals, recommendations and extracurricular activities.  Financial need and extraordinary circumstances are also considered during the application process.

The second grant from the NRC has been given for the College of Technology’s Nuclear Education Scholarship Program for the sum of $89,000. This money will go toward funding 14 scholarships within the College of Technology’s Energy Systems Technology Program. About 10 of these scholarships will be awarded to continuing students while the remaining will be used to recruit new students. Scholarship recipients will also be funded to attend a nuclear energy conference as part of their award.

This is the second year the NRC has awarded scholarship funding to the ISU College of Technology and the Electronics Department. Fourteen students received scholarship funding in 2009 as part of the NRC grant award.

For more information on the Department of Engineering NRC scholarships, contact Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar at mldg@isu.edu, or call (208) 282-7809. 

For more information on the health physics scholarships, contact Jason Harris at harris@physics.isu.edu, or call (208) 282-3364.

For more information on the College of Technology NRC scholarships, contact Scott Rasmussen, at rasmscot@isu.edu or (208) 282-3265, or Sherry Rindels-Larsen, (208) 282-3224. Applications for the College of Technology scholarships will be accepted until July 15. Visit the following website for more information on the College of Technology scholarships: http://www.isu.edu/scholar/forms/NRCAnn.pdf.