Rickover Fellowship Program in Nuclear Engineering

When is the deadline for the application?

 

The deadline for applying for the Rickover Fellowship Program is January 31st.

 

How many students are awarded the fellowship each year?

 

The number of awards given each year is dependent on the number of graduating Fellows currently in the program, available funding, and the qualifications of the candidates.

 

When will I hear if I was awarded the fellowship?

 

Rickover Fellowship awards are generally announced mid April.

 

What areas of research and course work do I need to be involved in to apply?

 

QUALIFIED ACADEMIC AREAS

Rickover fellows must be enrolled in an academic course of study and pursue research applicable to the science and engineering programs for the Rickover Fellowship Program in Nuclear Engineering. A fellow's academic program must be structured so that it supports one of the following research areas:

AREAS OF RESEARCH

REACTOR PHYSICS

• Research on data for modeling nuclear phenomena including their improvement and assessment against worldwide experiments

• Development of advanced Monte Carlo techniques to solve the neutron transport equation for complex material arrangements in three-dimensional geometries using novel variance reduction procedures

• Improvements in methods using the diffusion approximation for calculating core neutronic behavior with burn up in the design of reactors

• Development and application of accurate and efficient deterministic methods for solution of the neutron transport equation for realistic, three-dimensional reactor core geometries.

• Investigation of procedures with improved accuracy and efficiency for evaluation of important reactor design parameters

• Development of advanced experimental techniques (e.g. measurement of sub-criticality, determination of fissile content in spent fuel)

• Development of advanced or innovative reactor design concepts

MATERIALS SCIENCE
• Performance prediction of nuclear fuels
• Advanced materials for use in neutron environments
• Corrosion in nuclear environments
• Fission product attack of materials
• Instrumentation for in-core measurements
• Fundamental studies of neutron and fission fragment damage to materials
• Computational material science studies

THERMAL HYDRAULICS AND COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS
• Measurements and modeling of the characteristics of thin liquid films in two-phase flow
• Measurements and modeling of void fraction, velocity and interfacial area in two- phase flow regimes under a wide range of conditions
• Mechanistic modeling of critical heat flux in the nucleate boiling and departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) regime
• Direct measurement and modeling of wall shear and pressure drop in two-phase flow
• Measurement and modeling of the size of liquid droplets and entrainment rates in annular two-phase flow
• Investigation of the calculational stability of various two-phase flow source terms
• Measurements and modeling of transient two-phase flow
• Development of a single-phase and/or two-phase Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) validation, uncertainty quantification and best-estimate plus uncertainty design methods
• Measurement of single-phase and/or two-phase flow field quantities required to validate CFD methods
• Development of new turbulence models for internal, anisotropic flows for application to CFD

SHIELDING
• Improved parallel efficiency in deterministic transport calculations
• Discontinuous mesh computations for large 3D problems
• Application of Monte Carlo to large scale shielding problems
• Hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic shielding methods

 

How many years can I be a fellow?

 

The award is limited to 48 months maximum for doctoral candidates. Awards may be limited to less time than the maximum in some situations.

 

Do I need to participate in a practicum?

 

Rickover Fellows are required to participate in at least two practica for at least three months each at a DOE Naval Reactor research laboratory to gain applied experience. A DOE Security clearance must be obtained and maintained for each practicum.Yes. Fellows are required to participate in two practicums at a DOE Naval Reactor research laboratory to gain hands-on experience.

 

Do I need to be a full-time student?

 

Yes. Fellows are expected to be registered as full-time graduate students and performing study and research within the objectives of the fellowship program.

 

How much financial support will I receive?

 

Fellows receive a monthly stipend in the amount of $2,600. The Fellow's basic stipend is augmented by an additional $650 (prorated) each month during the practicum.

 

Do I need to be in school for my Ph.D.?

 

Yes. The program is open to individuals who will be starting a Ph.D program or individuals who are already enrolled as doctoral students.

 

Can I apply as an undergraduate?

 

The program is open to all individuals who will be entering graduate students or who are currently enrolled in a qualified course of study but have not yet selected a thesis topic.

 

Do I need to be a United States citizen?

 

Yes, for this fellowship, being a U.S. citizen is a requirement.  Dual citizenship is not permitted.