NUCLEAR SCIENCEPreparing More STEM Students for Careers in Nuclear Science and Security
New funds will support efforts to educate and train the next generation of scientists and engineers and provide innovative solutions to challenges related to nuclear security.
The UTSA-led Consortium on Nuclear Security Technologies (CONNECT) has received a five-year, $5 million renewal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The funds will go toward UTSA’s efforts to educate and train the next generation of scientists and engineers, to provide innovative solutions to challenges related to nuclear security and to bolster the nation’s pipeline of underrepresented students prepared for research careers.
CONNECT provided funds for 45 students at three institutions during its first phase, which started three years ago. Participants included 23 undergraduate students and 22 graduate students from UTSA, St. Mary’s University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The program had a retention rate of 86% and over half of its participants identified as underrepresented minorities.
“CONNECT provides transdisciplinary, transformative and collaborative learning opportunities where students make a national impact through groundbreaking research while gaining marketable skills and network connections to help them thrive in their future careers,” said Kimberly Andrews Espy, UTSA provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “We are grateful for the generous support from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue this valuable program.”
CONNECT is funded by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program (MSIPP), a program that was created for the NNSA to raise awareness about the career opportunities available for minority students who are interested in STEM, particularly physics, computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.
“The CONNECT program has facilitated the development of a student pipeline to our partners at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. It’s also kickstarted several sustainable research areas with engagement from both UTSA faculty and the national lab scientists,” said Elizabeth Sooby, principal investigator of the CONNECT grant and assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy.
In this renewal phase, CONNECT will offer a course on nuclear policy to help students gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the policy-making process at the federal level as it relates to national nuclear security. The course will include a project where students will simulate a mock conference as the International Atomic Energy Agency where they will roleplay as delegates to better understand how policy is created.
“The course enables students to understand the politics and public policy-making surrounding nuclear security and nonproliferation,” said Matthias Hofferberth, associate professor in the UTSA Department of Political Science and Geography. “This responds to the need for transdisciplinary education, where students need to not
