The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management officially said in an April 15 press release it is expanding its Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program thanks to increased funding for the program in the agency’s fiscal 2022 budget, which started Oct. 1.
In March, DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina said Minority Serving Institutions had until April 8 to respond to a request for information to work with the lab on research for the Environmental Management office.
The DOE received $56 million for the Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP) in fiscal 2022, up from $6 million in fiscal 2021, according to the release.
The DOE Office of Environmental Management is adding a graduate fellowship program as well as a technology curriculum and professional development program. This is all part of the nuclear cleanup office’s ongoing effort to diversify its 33,000-person federal and contractor workforce, many of whom are rapidly approaching retirement age.
The nuclear office “is significantly ramping up recruitment efforts and the MSIPP plays a key role,” said William (Ike) White, the Environmental Management office’s senior adviser. “The tools and programs we are putting in place today will set the stage for developing the next generation workforce needed tomorrow.”
Department of Energy managers, college officials and lawmakers broke ground Tuesday on a new off-site research center for the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina.
The $50-million Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative facility, to be built by North Wind Group on the University of South Carolina-Aiken campus, will provide 60,000 square feet of laboratory, office and conference space to the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) outside the DOE’s security fence, the agency said in a news release.
The USC-Aiken campus is located about 20 miles from the DOE laboratory site.
Construction should be completed in 2024, the DOE said in the news release. Participants in the groundbreaking included Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), William (Ike) White, senior adviser for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, USC-Aiken’s chancellor Daniel Heimmermann, Savannah River Site operations manager Mike Budney and Savannah River National Laboratory director Vahid Majidi.
