Andrew Dercher, a graduate student in the TAMU Nuclear Engineering Department, has been awarded a fellowship through the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy as part of their Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP). Dercher is currently working with Dr. Karen Vierow on improvements to the decay heat removal system for gas-cooled fast reactors. He is originally from Radnor, Pennsylvania and earned his B.S. in Nuclear Engineering at Penn State.
According to the Office of Nuclear Energy, "The scholarships and fellowships granted under the NEUP program will help to recruit and train the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers – a critical need as the nation moves toward greater use of nuclear energy to meet our energy needs and address the global climate crisis." In 2009, the NEUP program awarded 76 scholarships and 18 fellowships (approximately $2.9 million) to U.S. nuclear science and engineering students. The fellowship awarded to Dercher provides $150,000 over three years.
Also included in this award announcement were three undergraduate scholarship recipients from Nuclear Engineering: Michael Hackemack, Jesse Johns, and William Sames. Each will receive a one-year award of $5000.
