DOE's Office of Environmental Management Awards $20 Million Financial Assistance Cooperative Agreement to Florida International University to Advance Nuclear Cleanup and Innovation

CINCINNATI — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) announced today that it has awarded a noncompetitive cooperative agreement, valued at $20 million, to Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida. The five-year agreement, effective March 1, 2026, supports FIU’s Applied Research Center (ARC) in advancing environmental research, development, and innovative testing and evaluation programs.

Through this award, ARC will focus on four critical areas of Cold War nuclear legacy cleanup:

• Radioactive waste processing
• Contaminated soil and groundwater remediation
• Nuclear facility decontamination and decommissioning
• Tailored information and artificial intelligence technologies

ARC’s unique structure enables seamless collaboration among university researchers, government agencies, private industry, and the international nuclear community. This partnership fosters the development of cutting-edge technologies that address real-world challenges in the nuclear sector. Workforce development is a central component of the cooperative agreement. By integrating undergraduate and graduate STEM students into hands-on research, ARC is preparing the next generation of scientists, engineers, and leaders for the DOE nuclear workforce.

For more than 35 years, EM has remained focused on addressing the environmental legacy of nuclear weapons development and nuclear energy research that helped end World War II, win the Cold War, and position the United States as a leader in nuclear energy. This partnership with FIU advances EM’s mission in delivering results that are protecting the environment, supporting communities, and enabling a concerted focus on safely completing the mission sooner and efficiently.

Media Contact:

Toni Rutherford

toni.rutherford@emcbc.doe.gov