University of Tennessee and UCOR Extend Partnership Through MOU Renewal
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) have strengthened their 10-year formal partnership of developing highly skilled workers for nuclear and environmental cleanup work with an expanded Memorandum of Understanding focused on the increased importance of nuclear and criticality safety career opportunities at Department of Energy operations across the United States.
UT and UCOR held a signing ceremony on Wednesday afternoon in the Zeanah Engineering Complex to celebrate the new MOU, which affirms the ongoing alliance between the entities and provides a framework for discussion about future collaborations.
The ceremony included UT Vice Chancellor for Research Deborah Crawford; Tickle College of Engineering Dean Matthew Mench, the Wayne T. Davis Dean's Chair; TVA Nuclear Engineering Department Chair Brian Wirth; and UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter.
"The relationship between UCOR and UT through the Tickle College of Engineering has been comprehensive and long-term," Mench said. "We remain committed to working with our UCOR partners to develop the highly skilled workforce and research outcomes needed to solve nuclear and environmental cleanup challenges into the future"
During the visit for the MOU signing, Rueter gave a graduate colloquium presentation "Cleanup Today for a Nuclear Tomorrow," and met with NE students and faculty.
"I enjoyed sharing how UT has been an essential partner in our 'Cleanup Today for a Nuclear Tomorrow' initiative to enable federal land transfers for the $12 billion in next-generation nuclear investments and thousands of jobs coming to Oak Ridge, and now we're kicking off our second decade of enabling rewarding nuclear careers in the Oak Ridge ccorridor," Rueter said.
Creating Future Opportunities
An Amentum company, UCOR is the lead environmental cleanup contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy's 32,000-acre Oak Ridge Reservation. The company's 2,500-person workforce is working on an $8.3 billion cleanup contract to safely remove nuclear facilities that have completed their production missions, clearing land to support essential modernization and enduring science and national security missions at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
UCOR and UT have worked collaboratively for several years, and the MOU renewal is one of many ties that bind the entities. UCOR has endowed scholarships within TCE for students, and Nuclear Engineering Professor Jason Hayward is UT's UCOR Fellow.
UT and UCOR joined forces to help establish minor degrees at UT in nuclear safety and nuclear decommissioning and environmental management. UCOR annually sponsors senior design projects related to nuclear facilities safety and hosts nearly 20 UT student interns each summer.
The MOU renewal extends UT and UCOR's efforts to develop training and educational opportunities to benefit UT students and UCOR workforce. The collaborations will include projects, research, and curriculum related to nuclear and criticality safety, environmental and restoration management, deactivation and decommissioning, waste management, soil sciences, cybersecurity, information technology, workforce development and student internship and fellowship opportunities.
"UCOR has been a great partner, having provided support for our faculty and working collaboratively to develop the coursework for the nuclear decommissioning and environmental management minor," Wirth said. "We look forward to extending that partnership as we seek to add a new minor in nuclear criticality safety, among other activities, and UCOR provides opportunities for fabulous, well-paying careers for our graduates."
Provided by University of Tennessee at Knoxville
