The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was created as an independent agency by Congress in 1974 to enable the nation to safely use radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes while ensuring that people and the environment are protected.

The NRC regulates the nation's civilian

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use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.

The NRC’s Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) furthers the agency’s regulatory mission by providing technical advice, technical tools and information for identifying and resolving safety issues, making regulatory decisions, and promulgating regulations and guidance.

RES is comprised of three technical divisions and one administrative division, each with their own responsibilities and program goals.

Functional descriptions of each division can be found at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/resfuncdesc.html.

RES awards support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by named Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) in areas representing the investigators ’ specific interests and competencies, based on the mission of the NRC.

Proposals to conduct independent experiments and analyses, develop technical bases for supporting realistic safety decisions by the agency, and evaluating safety issues involving current and new designs and technologies will be accepted.

Although the PDs/PIs write the grant application and are responsible for conducting and supervising the research, the actual applicant is the research institution/organization.

Submitted applications are assigned to the appropriate division with expertise in the subject area.