The Nuclear Energy Academic Roadmap (NEAR) is a collaborative effort aimed at strengthening the future of nuclear education and workforce capacity building in the United States. Led by the ORAU STEM Accelerator, this roadmap represents the combined expertise and dedication of educators, industry leaders, government agencies and other stakeholders working together to address one of the most pressing challenges facing the nuclear energy sector – building a skilled and resilient workforce.
On Thursday, May 14, 2026, industry leaders, educators, trade unions, government representatives, and community partners will meet on ORAU’s main campus and the Pollard Center in Oak Ridge for the Pathway to Trades Summit, a collaborative event focused on building and sustaining the nuclear trades pipeline. This is your chance to be part of a high-impact group of stakeholders dedicated to crafting solutions and driving meaningful change.
Maurice Roots, Ph.D., was six years old when he watched “Star Trek” and decided to be a physicist. His dream came true and today he is an atmospheric physicist in the NASA Postdoctoral Program researching atmospheric chemistry and dynamics at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Specifically, Roots focuses on ozone, which is one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s six critical pollutants. He says we need to measure and be concerned about ozone because of the health risks associated with how ozone impacts air quality and breathing it in, adding that ozone isn’t directly emitted from anything specific but formed in the air secondarily. Roots discusses why his research is important, what it means for all of us, and the career and education path that led him to NASA.
For more than 80 years, ORAU has served as a trusted partner to our government customers, our university consortium members, and our local community. In this video, you can meet some of the people behind the ORAU name.
