Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering at Illinois

NPRE Undergraduates: Don't miss this opportunity!

The Department of Energy's University Nuclear Leadership Program (NEUP) is offering $10,000 scholarships to students in nuclear and related engineering fields.

📅 Application Deadline: July 2

Start early! A complete application requires:
✅ Personal Career Goals Essay
✅ Three Letters of Reference

NPRE students have been among the nation's top scholarship recipients in recent years—let's keep the momentum going!

📲 Scan the QR code in the graphic for full details and application information.

If you are attending the American Nuclear Society Annual 2026 Meeting, make plans to join us for the NPRE Alumni and Friends Breakfast!

Reconnect with fellow alumni, students, faculty, and friends of the Department of Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering before the day’s conference activities begin.

📅 Tuesday, June 6, 2026
⏰ 7:00–8:00 a.m.
📍 Denver Meeting Room in the Tower Building inside Sheraton Denver Downtown
1550 Court Place, Denver, CO 80202

Hope to see you there!

We’re proud to see NPRE featured in NEUP’s latest “Where Are They Now?” spotlight on April Novak.

From a 2015 UNLP Fellow to a faculty member in our department, April’s journey reflects the lasting impact of the Nuclear Energy University Program. Her work in advanced reactor modeling and simulation continues to push the field forward while building on the foundation she developed as a fellow.

Programs like NEUP have made a meaningful difference for NPRE—supporting our students, advancing faculty research, and creating hands-on opportunities that prepare the next generation of nuclear engineers.

We’re grateful for this partnership and proud to be part of April’s story.

Congratulations to our NPRE Class of 2026! 🎓🧡💙

We loved celebrating with our students, families, faculty, and staff at this year’s post-convocation lunch. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a special and memorable occasion.

We are incredibly proud of all our graduates have accomplished during their time in NPRE, and we can’t wait to see where their journeys take them next. The future is bright, and we know the best is yet to come.

NPRE professors Syed Bahauddin Alam and Lorenzo Vergari have each received Distinguished Early Career Awards from the U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Energy University Program.

Each researcher was awarded $800,000 to support innovative projects advancing the future of nuclear energy — including AI-driven virtual sensing for advanced reactors and research into graphite degradation in molten salt reactors.

Their work will help improve the safety, efficiency and longevity of next-generation nuclear energy systems. Story: https://npre.illinois.edu/news/stories/sba-lv-decp

The Grainger College of Engineering

A big congratulations to NPRE professor Angela Di Fulvio, who has been named a 2026 Engineering Council Outstanding Advisor!

This recognition places her among the top 10% of engineering advisors, as selected by students—highlighting her dedication, mentorship, and impact on student success.

We’re proud to celebrate her commitment to supporting and guiding our students every day.

Recently, 45 NPRE undergraduate students had the incredible opportunity to visit Purdue University’s Research Reactor (PUR-1), thanks to Professor April Novak.

Students rotated through hands-on learning experiences, including:
- Approach to criticality experiments
- Pile foil irradiation
- In-reactor foil irradiation & Cherenkov radiation
- Digital twins in nuclear systems

The experience left a lasting impression:

“It feels like an incredible and surreal experience to see an active nuclear core in real life after all I've learned about it.” — Brett Heberer

“I had never seen Cherenkov radiation in person before… it was something I could stare at all day. It was beautiful.” — Michael Miramontes

A research team led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to launch a groundbreaking program focused on nuclear cybersecurity and workforce training.

As nuclear power plants modernize and go digital, protecting them from cyber threats is becoming more critical than ever. This new initiative will:

🔹 Train engineers and technicians in cybersecurity
🔹 Create hands-on learning environments with real-world simulations
🔹 Build new career pathways into the nuclear industry

Story: https://npre.illinois.edu/news/stories/doe-nrst

Yesterday was a full and meaningful day in NPRE, as we hosted our annual alumni board meeting and honors banquet, with a poster session in between.

We’re always grateful for the chance to bring together NPRE’s past, present, and future—celebrating the people, achievements, and community that make this department so special.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a memorable one.

Our department head, Rizwan Uddin, was in Washington, D.C. last week for Hill Day. While there, he ran into alumna Alyssa Hayes ('19 B.S.), currently an ANS Congressional Fellow in Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's office, and U of I System President Tim Killeen.