ML18192B577

Grant No. 31310018M0036

ML18192B577
Person / Time
Issue date:	07/10/2018
From:	M'Lita Carr Acquisition Management Division
To:
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31310018M0036
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Page 1 of 27 Grant and Cooperative Agreement CHOOSE ONE:

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT GRANT X

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT RECIPIENT SPECIAL CONDITIONS REQUIRED PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS PROVISIONS FDP TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND THE AGENCY-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS APPLY TO THIS GRANT NO CHANGE IS MADE TO EXISTING PROVISIONS AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE DATE DATE CONTRACTING/GRANT OFFICER UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

18. APPLICABLE ENCLOSURE(S), IF CHECKED:

17. APPLICABLE STATEMENT(S), IF CHECKED:

16. THIS AWARD IS MADE UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF :

PAYMENTS ADMINISTRATOR NEGOTIATOR TECHNICAL OFFICER E-MAIL ADDRESS TELEPHONE MAIL STOP NAME

15. POINTS OF CONTACT STATUS AMOUNT JOB ORDER NO.

PURCHASE REQUEST NO.

14. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA THIS ACTION PREVIOUS TOTAL RECIPIENT SHARE NON-CASH SHARE CASH SHARE THIS ACTION PREVIOUS FUNDING HISTORY 13B.

AWARD HISTORY 13A.

12. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE (Approximately)

11. PURPOSE

10. RESEARCH, PROJECT OR PROGRAM TITLE

8. COMMERCIAL & GOVERNMENT ENTITY (CAGE) NO.

7. TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NO. (TIN)

9. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/ORGANIZATION'S PROJECT OR

6. ISSUED BY Mailing Address:

NAME/ADDRESS OF RECIPIENT (No., Street, City/County, State, Zip)

5. ISSUED TO

4. COMPLETION DATE

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

2. SUPPLEMENT NUMBER

1. GRANT/COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NUMBER TRAINING SDCR RESEARCH FACILITIES EDUCATION X

CHOOSE ONE:

TOTAL PROGRAM MGR. (Name & Phone) 31310018M0036 07/10/2018 RFCUNY - CITY COLLEGE 230 WEST 41ST STREET NEW YORK NY 100367296 US NRC - HQ ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION MAIL STOP TWFN-07B20M WASHINGTON DC 20555-0001 Faculty Development Program: Expanding the Scope of Nuclear Engineering Research and Education at The City College of New York See Schedule A.1 07/10/2018 through 07/09/2021

$0.00

$449,998.00

$449,998.00

$0.00

$449,998.00

$449,998.00

$0.00

$0.00 2018-X0200-IUPNSE-60-60D099-60B991-1148-72-S-164-4110-72-S-164-1148 NANCY V. HEBRON-ISREAL TWFN10B56 301-415-6996 NANCY.HEBRON-ISREAL@nrc.gov M'LITA R. CARR 301-415-6869 MLita.Carr@nrc.gov M'LITA R. CARR Pursuant to Sections 31b and 141b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

RES-18-0180 07/10/2018

Page 2 of 27 Grant and Cooperative Agreement UNIT PRICE (E)

AMOUNT (F)

ITEM NO.

(A)

ITEM OR SERVICE (Include Specifications and Special Instructions)

(B)

QUANTITY (C)

UNIT (D)

ESTIMATED COST CFDA Number: 77.008 Payment will be made through the Automated Standard Application for Payment (ASAP.gov) unless the recipient has failed to comply with the program objectives, award conditions, Federal reporting requirements or other conditions specified in 2 CFR 200.

Payment:

Period of Performance: 07/10/2018 to 07/09/2021

31310018M0036 Page 3 of 27 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 July 10, 2018 VIA Electronic Mail The Research Foundation CUNY - The City College 160 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10031-9101

SUBJECT:

GRANT NO: 31310018M0036 Dear Dr.

Pursuant to the authority contained in the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977, as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) hereby awards to The Research Foundation CUNY - The City College (hereinafter referred to as the "Grantee or Recipient), the sum of $449,998.00 to provide support for "Faculty Development Program: Expanding the Scope of Nuclear Engineering Research and Education at The City College of New York" entitled "Program Description."

This award is effective July 10, 2018 and shall apply to expenditures made by the Recipient furtherance of program objectives during the period beginning with the effective date of July 10, 2018 and ending July 9, 2021.

This award is made to the Recipient on condition that the funds will be administered in accordance with the terms and conditions as set forth in Attachment A (the Schedule); Attachment B (the Program Description);

and Attachment C (the Standard Provisions); all of which have been agreed to by your organization. In addition your grant application proposes in cost share for this program. Please ensure your cost share conforms to the provisions in 2 CFR 200, and is reported on the semi-annual Federal Financial Report.

Please ensure individuals selected as beneficiaries of support under this grant meet the legal requirements consistent with Supreme Court Decisions including Fisher, Gratz, and Grutter.

As a recipient of this award you are required to have an active account with FedConnect, please confirm your account status at www.FedConnect.com.

Sincerely yours, MLita Carr Assistance Agreement Officer Operations Branch B Acquisition Management Division Attachments:

Attachment A - Schedule Attachment B - Program Description

31310018M0036 Page 4 of 27 Attachment C - Standard Terms and Condition Attachment A - Schedule A.1 PURPOSE OF GRANT The purpose of this Grant is to provide support to the Faculty Development Program:

Expanding the Scope of Nuclear Engineering Research as described in Attachment B entitled "Program Description."

A.2 PERIOD OF GRANT

1. The effective date of this Grant is July 10, 2018. The estimated completion date of this Grant is July 9, 2021.

2. Funds obligated hereunder are available for program expenditures for the estimated period:

July 10, 2018 - July 9, 2021.

A.3 GENERAL

1. Total Estimated NRC Amount:

$449,998.00

2. Total Obligated Amount:

$449,998.00

3. Cost-Sharing Amount:

4. Activity

Title:

Faculty Development Program: Expanding the Scope of Nuclear Engineering Research and Education at The City College of New York

5. NRC Project Officer:

Nancy Hebron-Isreal

6. DUNS No.:

A.4 AMOUNT OF AWARD AND PAYMENT PROCEDURES

1. The total estimated amount of this Award is for the three year period; inclusive of in cost share.

2. NRC hereby obligates the amount of $449,998.00 for program expenditures during the period set forth above and in support of the Budget above. NRC is not obligated to reimburse the Grantee for the expenditure of amounts in excess of the total obligated amount.

3. Payment shall be made to the Recipient in accordance with procedures set forth in the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) Procedures set forth below.

A.5 BUDGET Revisions to the grant award budget shall be made in accordance with Revision of Grant Budget in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.308.

31310018M0036 Page 5 of 27 Attachment B - Project Description I. Introduction.

Nuclear power plants rely on alternating current (ac) power for routine and safe operations. When a nuclear power station experiences a loss of offsite power (LOOP) from the electrical grid, it uses on-site emergency diesel generators to provide back-up ac power to monitor and control the reactor.1 However, when the diesel generators also failan uncommon but important event it is known as station blackout (SBO), or similarly an extended-loss-of alternating-current-power (ELAP) event when no other additional ac power sources are available.1-3 In the case of an SBO/ELAP event, commercial nuclear power stations have an additional direct current (dc) power supply, which currently are vented lead acid batteries.4-5 The battery system provides energy for components that do not require ac power, such as turbine-driven pumps or diesel-driven pumps, which cool the reactor, mitigate core damage, and ultimately prevent meltdown.

These risks were highlighted recently by the sequential earthquake and tsunami in Japan during March 2011, which caused an ELAP event at the Fukushima Daichii power plant that resulted in three core meltdowns and a Level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale.6 The earthquake resulted in loss of offsite power, while the tsunami flooded the emergency diesel generators. More generally, as summarized by NRC reports, ELAP events are an important contributor to overall plant risk, contributing significantly to core damage frequency.2 When ELAP occurs, the reliability and performance of the battery system is the final defense to ensuring that the nuclear reactor shuts down and cools properly.

This project seeks to substantially improve the energy densities, reliability, control, and safety of direct current (dc) battery energy storage systems for nuclear power stations, thus significantly mitigating risks from SBO/ELAP events. Such research will complement CCNYs and CUNYs existing research efforts in nuclear safety while leveraging and expanding our existing nuclear expertise and electrochemical energy storage infrastructure. The CCNY Grove School of Engineering and CUNY Energy Institute have jointly selected an outstanding faculty development candidate, tenure-track Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering who has expertise with complex electrochemical materials and systems and is well poised to make important contributions in this unique and important area of nuclear safety.

II. Institutions: CCNY Grove School of Engineering & CUNY Energy Institute The CUNY Energy Institute has a nuclear engineering program, the Thermal-hydraulics and Safety Research Laboratory, which was established in 2009 within CCNYs Grove School of

31310018M0036 Page 6 of 27 Engineering. The core nuclear engineering faculty currently consist of

r.

, who have successfully developed research programs by applying their expertise in heat transfer, multi-phase flows, and multi-scale computational approaches (e.g., lattice-Boltzmann methods) to nuclear applications. These efforts have previously received funding from the NRC, U.S. DOE, industry, and other sources.

In addition, the CUNY Energy Institute has existing battery expertise and infrastructure, which will greatly benefit the proposed research program and efforts. Researchers within the Energy Institute, led by

, have previously demonstrated the feasibility of rechargeable alkaline zinc-manganese dioxde (MnO2) and zinc-nickel batteries. This research laid the groundwork for the improved technical objectives and enhanced scientific understanding of the work proposed here, as well as their practical applications as testable, controllable, and reliable back-up battery systems for nuclear power stations. Dr. Messinger and his research program will benefit tremendously from the in-house expertise of CUNY Energy Institute battery researchers, while they in turn will benefit from the growth and enhanced capabilities of his developing laboratory and expertise.

The proposed NRC faculty development grant would further expand a nuclear program committed to training diverse nuclear engineers. Located in north Harlem in Manhattan, The City College of New York (CCNY) is a research university with perhaps the most diverse student body of any in the world: CCNY students speak more than 100 languages and represent about 160 nationalities. The CCNY undergraduate population is over 50% African-American and Hispanic students, with about 40% in science and nearly 30% in engineering. The CCNY Grove School of Engineering is proud to educate students from such a diverse population: CCNY is in the top 5%

nationwide for ethnic diversity (College Factual 2017), the top 15% nationally for the number and percentage of graduating minority engineers with a bachelor's degree (ASEE profile data, Fall 2015), and top 20% nationally in the number and top 10% in the percentage of graduating minority students with master's degrees (ASEE profile data, Fall 2015).

Thus, the proposed project would sustainably grow the existing nuclear engineering and energy research programs at CCNY and CUNY, while continuing a tradition of commitment to diversity.

III. Faculty Candidate Selection.

The CUNY Energy Institute and CCNY Grove School of Engineering have jointly selected tenure-track Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering as an outstanding faculty candidate.

a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During his doctoral research, he elucidated new multi-scale understandings in self-assembled and hierarchically-structured solids or microfluidic systems involving transport near surfaces, enabling control of material or device properties over discrete length scales. Specific systems included crystallizing zeolite nanosheets, self-assembled organosilica nanocomposites, elastomeric organosiloxane foams, electrokinetic flows over nano-rough surfaces, and mass transport to microfluidic biosensors (see CV).

He then joined the CNRS in Orléans, France, where he was a prestigious European Union Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow and affiliated with the French Network for Electrochemical Energy Storage. There, he developed new methods in multi-dimensional solid-state NMR spectroscopy to measure sub-nanometer-scale structures and disorder in crystalline lithium-ion battery electrodes. Subsequently, he joined a lab affiliated with both the CNRS and Grenoble Institute of Technology, where he studied neutral and polyanionic block copolymer electrolytes for solid-state lithium metal batteries. Dr. Messinger is thus a unique researcher who has made important published contributions to an impressive diversity of fields that is highly uncommon in candidates:

31310018M0036 Page 7 of 27 energy, materials science, physical chemistry, electrochemistry, and transport physics. We would like to encourage his interest in nuclear engineering and enable his nuclear safety program through this NRC faculty development grant.

He has also demonstrated a strong commitment to mentoring and education; for example, he received top teaching ratings in his CCNY chemical engineering undergraduate heat and mass transfer course during spring 2016 semester (+2.34/+3.00, scale ranges from -3.00 to +3.00, 41 students). At UC Santa Barbara, as a chemical engineering teaching assistant, he received the University-Wide Teaching Award for Natural Sciences & Engineering. We expect him to continue his commitment to education in the context of the proposed nuclear research program.

Thus, comes with our highest recommendation for this NRC faculty development grant, based on his past research and educational accomplishments as well as his current efforts to sustain them at CCNY and CUNY. Importantly, we believe that he has a high potential to become fully tenured. Our matching commitment (see below, or letter, for more details) reflects this belief and confirms our commitment to his success.

IV. Proposed Research Program.

The overarching objective of the proposed research is to improve the safety of the U.S. nuclear reactor fleet by developing significantly improved back-up battery power sources for SBO/ELAP events. While such events are uncommon, they can be significant when they do occur. SBO risks and LOOP events were analyzed from 1986 to 2004, revealing: (i) grid-related LOOP events are most significant up to 6 h, while weather-related LOOP events contributed most above 6 h, and (ii) overall, while LOOP frequency decreased, the duration increased.1 These data highlight the need for robust battery systems that deliver far beyond the 4 to 8 h of back-up power currently required by the NRC.3 Currently, vented lead-acid batteries are used as battery back-up systems in nuclear power plants.4-5 However, existing lead-acid technologies cannot meet the objectives of high energy density, minimal hazards, and low cost. Lead-acid batteries exhibit relatively poor energy densities (30-50 Wh/kg), due to the fact that lead is a heavy (and highly toxic) metal.7 Cycle life is also limited: a typical lead-acid battery can be recharged ~500-1000 times.7 Their performance specifications are also highly sensitive to operating temperature, which could be an issue during weather-related ELAP. Thermal runaway events can also occur, posing hazards.

This research seeks to yield batteries with significantly improved energy densities, lifetimes, and safety to mitigate deleterious or prevent disastrous consequences that could occur during SBO/ELAP events. In particular, substantially higher energy densities are required to ensure reliable power during prolonged events. Here, the technical objective is to develop a back-up power system using non-flammable, low cost battery chemistries that exhibit energy densities four to five times greater than current lead-acid technologies. Note that lithium-ion batteries are not used as they are highly flammable and prone to self-discharge.8 Such battery systems can be deployed (i) at the nuclear plant site, or (ii) at a regional center for emergency deployment to the plant if required. Notably, the concept of deployable batteries (e.g.,

by helicopter) is only practically applicable for high-energy-density batteries. Two different rechargeable battery chemistries will be investigated: rechargeable (i) alkaline zinc-MnO2 and (ii) aluminum batteries. These systems will be briefly introduced, as well as the existing electrochemical engineering and materials characterization capabilities at CCNY.

Electrochemical Materials & Devices Lab (EMDL).

31310018M0036 Page 8 of 27 has built his Electrochemical Materials and Devices Laboratory (EMDL) in a space provided by, and with financial support from, the CCNY Grove School of Engineering. It consists of an argon-filled glovebox with sub-part-per-million oxygen and water, potentiostats, electrochemical battery cyclers, and equipment for battery processing and fabrication as well as chemical and materials syntheses. The CUNY Energy Institute battery laboratory, founded by

, contains additional electrochemical and material/device processing equipment.

Building upon this infrastructure, the CCNY-matched NRC faculty development would provide three doctoral engineering students, materials and supplies, and extensive use of advanced characterization facilities needed to realize the proposed nuclear safety research program.

Multi-scale Scientific Approach.

approach is to characterize, understand, correlate, and control atomic and molecular-level properties with macroscopic materials properties and device performance.

is an expert in the development and application of novel multi-dimensional NMR techniques,9 as well as the coupling of NMR results to electron microscopy and diffraction methods. In combination, such experiments are a powerful for understanding the molecular origins of chemical and structural changes that occur in battery materials over time and their effects on bulk electrochemical properties (e.g, aging mechanisms). The CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), completed in 2015, has state-of-the-art shared scientific facilities, including a 600 MHz NMR spectrometer with a 1.6-mm triple-resonance probehead capable of obtaining high-resolution solid-state NMR spectra. New scanning and transmission electron microscopy (TEM and SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) instruments are also available.

Rechargeable alkaline Zn-MnO2 batteries.

Aqueous alkaline Zn-MnO2 batteries exhibit high theoretical energy densities, are non-flammable, non-toxic, and composed of low-cost naturally abundant elements. While single-use alkaline Zn-MnO2 batteries have been commercialized extensively (e.g., by Duracell, Energizer, and others), rechargeable analogues have not had widespread success, because standard designs reversibly extract only ~5% of the total energy. The CUNY Energy Institute has recently demonstrated high-energy-density Zn-MnO2 batteries with lifetimes over 3000 cycles.10 However, there is significant technological whitespace: only 10-20% of the first-electron capacity of the MnO2 cathode was utilized, while zinc anode depth-of-discharge was limited <10%.10 The proposed work aims to significantly increase the energy density of this promising low-cost battery chemistry by (i) increasing the cycling stability and utilization of the zinc anodes by studying how deleterious zinc dendrites and deposits form and grow at interfaces, and devising ways to control and/or prevent them, and (ii) increasing and controlling MnO2 cathode utilization by understanding how the complex MnO2 crystal structures change upon cycling, including any deleterious reactions with zinc ions and the effects of discharge rates. As the theoretical energy density approaches ~400 Wh/L for these systems (<100 Wh/L for lead-acid), they have exciting applications as on-site and deployable emergency battery systems for nuclear power plants.

Rechargeable aluminum batteries.

Aluminum metal is a both a thermodynamically and economically promising electrode material for rechargeable batteries. Volumetrically, it is the most energy dense metal (8.05 Ah/L);

gravimetrically, it is second only to lithium metal (2.98 Ah/kg for Al).11 Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earths crust and thus has a very low cost. In 2015, a room-temperature aluminum-graphite battery was demonstrated, using an ionic liquid electrolyte.12 This battery operated at ~2 volts and could reversibly cycle >7,500 times at ultra-high powers of 4 A/g.12 However, it exhibited an energy density of only about 40 Wh/kg, as it used only a fraction of the capacity available in the aluminum metal, leaving substantial room for improvement.

31310018M0036 Page 9 of 27 The proposed work is to build and demonstrate working prototypes of aluminum batteries with energy densities that are two to four times greater than existing aluminum prototypes, while yielding the same ultra-high power densities. This would be accomplished by (i) exploring new cathodes materials with higher capacities, e.g., other carbon materials as well as crystalline host structures that enable intercalation of multi-valent ions (e.g., magnesium or zinc ions), and (ii) study these cathodes with lower cost electrolytes, including aqueous aluminum-ion systems. The potentially transformative energy densities and ultra-high discharge rates make them strong candidates as novel batteries for nuclear safety applications.

Battery Testing Protocols for Enhanced Safety The health and aging of any back-up battery must be able to be testable and known. Periodic electrochemical testing protocols are mandatory so that nuclear power plants can monitor battery health and reduce risk. While protocols have been developed for lead-acid batteries specifically for nuclear power plants, 4,5,13 protocols will also need to be developed for the battery chemistries discussed above. Note that cycling the battery periodically (a more stringent measure of battery health) would be possible in the battery chemistries proposed above, as opposed to the passive float current test currently used in lead-acid battery systems.13 V. Management Structure.

A Steering Committee will be established to manage the proposed NRC faculty development grant, which will be composed of CUNY Energy Institute The Steering Committee will be responsible for fully administering the NRC program, monitoring and evaluating the faculty development process, and approving all three Ph.D. students that will participate in the research project. The Steering Committee will first convene with at the beginning of the project, as well as after each semi-annual reporting period ends (March 30th and September 30th). They will be responsible for reviewing all official progress reports to the NRC (due 30 days after each reporting period ends). The committee will provide faculty mentoring throughout the project duration and monitor progress using the evaluation plan detailed below.

Administrative support will also be provided to and his developing nuclear safety research program by

, the Administrative Director of the CUNY Energy Institute. Staff at The Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RFCUNY) will provide support for managing financial aspects of the grant.

VI. Evaluation Plan.

The chair of the steering committee,

, will recruit an independent evaluation committee from his network, drawn from both federal agencies and national laboratories. The project will be evaluated according to the following indicators:

Successful demonstration of a rechargeable zinc-MnO2 battery with target energy density of four to five times greater than current lead-acid batteries

Successful demonstration of a rechargeable high-power aluminum battery with an energy density two to four times greater than previous aluminum batteries

Successful demonstration of electrochemical testing protocols that accurately reflect battery health and aging over conditions relevant to nuclear applications

Dissemination of research by publications in leading scientific journals

31310018M0036 Page 10 of 27

Dissemination of research and forging of professional connections at nuclear, engineering, and science conferences (e.g., American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), American Nuclear Society (ANS), Electrochemical Society (ECS), etc.).

Relationships built with nuclear vendors, industry, and U.S. national laboratories Project timeline and deliverables are included in the following table:

VII. Additional Support from Non-Federal Sources.

CCNYs Grove School of Engineering will provide an addition $50,000 per year in direct matching funds to support this NRC Faculty Development Grant, resulting in a total contribution of $150,000 over the project duration. These matching funds are in addition to the $225,000 in start-up funds, 6 years of support for engineering doctoral students, and laboratory space recently given to Dr. Messinger to initiate his research program.

31310018M0036 Page 11 of 27 Attachment C - Standard Terms and Condition The Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Standard Terms and Conditions for U.S. Nongovernmental Recipients Preface This award is based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under the authorization 42 U.S.C. § 2051(b), pursuant to section 31b and 141b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and is subject to the terms and conditions incorporated either directly or by reference in the grant or cooperative agreement. The following also apply:

Restrictions on the expenditure of Federal funds in appropriation acts, to the extent those restrictions are pertinent to the award.

Code of Federal Regulations/Regulatory Requirements - 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.

Any inconsistency or conflict in terms and conditions specified in the award will be resolved according to the following order of precedence: public laws, regulations, applicable notices published in the Federal Register, Executive Orders (E.O.), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars, the NRCs Mandatory Standard Provisions, special award conditions, and standard award conditions.

Certifications and Representations: These terms incorporate the certifications and representations required by statute, executive order, or regulation that were submitted with the SF424B application through GRANTS.GOV.

I. Mandatory General Requirements The order of these requirements does not make one requirement more important than any other requirement.

1. Applicability of 2 CFR Part 200 All provisions of 2 CFR Part 200 and all Standard Provisions attached to this grant/cooperative agreement are applicable to the Recipient and to sub-recipients which meet the definition of Recipient in 2 Part §200.86, unless a section specifically excludes a sub-recipient from coverage. The Recipient and any sub-recipients must, in addition to the assurances made as part of the application, comply and require each of its sub-awardees employed in the completion of the project to comply with Subpart D of 2 CFR Part 200 and include this term in lower-tier (sub-award) covered transactions.

Recipients must comply with monitoring procedures and audit requirements in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart FAUDIT REQUIREMENTS.

2. Award Package The Recipient is obligated to conduct project oversight as may be appropriate, to manage the funds with prudence, and to comply with the provisions outlined in 2 CFR Part 200. Within this

31310018M0036 Page 12 of 27 framework, the Principal Investigator (PI) named on the award face page, is responsible for the scientific or technical direction of the project and for preparation of the project performance reports. This award is funded on a cost-reimbursement basis, not to exceed the amount awarded as indicated on the face page, and is subject to a refund of unexpended grant funds to the NRC.

The non-Federal entity alone must be responsible, in accordance with good administrative practice and sound business judgment, for the settlement of all contractual and administrative issues arising out of procurements related to its grant award. These issues include, but are not limited to, source evaluation, protests, disputes, and claims. These standards do not relieve the non-Federal entity of any financial or fiduciary responsibilities or obligations arising under its grant, including sub-contracts and sub-awards, or any other contractual or financial obligation.

The Federal awarding agency will not substitute its judgment for that of the non-Federal entity unless the matter is primarily a Federal concern. Violations of law will be referred to the local, State, or Federal authority having proper jurisdiction. See 2 CFR § 200.318(k), General Procurement Standards.

Registration in FedConnect The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) uses Compusearch Software Systems secure and auditable two-way web portal, FedConnect, to communicate with vendors and contractors.

FedConnect provides bi-directional communication between the vendor/contractor and the NRC throughout pre-award, award, and post-award acquisition phases. Therefore, in order to do business with the NRC, vendors and contractors must register to use FedConnect at https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect. The individual registering in FedConnect must have authority to bind the vendor/contractor. There is no charge for using FedConnect.

Assistance with FedConnect is provided by Compusearch Software Systems, not the NRC.

FedConnect contact and assistance information is provided on the FedConnect web site at https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect.

Subawards Appendix II to Part 200 Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards Sub-recipients, sub-awardees, and contractors have no relationship with NRC under the terms of this grant/cooperative agreement. All required NRC approvals must be directed through the Recipient to NRC. See 2 CFR § 200.318.

Nondiscrimination This provision is applicable when work under the grant/cooperative agreement is performed in the U.S. or when employees are recruited in the U.S.

The Recipient agrees to comply with the non-discrimination requirements below:

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

31310018M0036 Page 13 of 27

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (42 U.S.C. §§ 6101 et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in any program receiving federal financial assistance.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq.), which prohibits recipients from discriminating on the basis of disability in employment (Title I);

State and local government services (Title II); and places of public accommodation and commercial facilities (Title III).

Parts II and III of E.O. 11246, as amended by E.O.11375, 11478, 12086, 12107, 13279, 13665, and 13672, which prohibits federal contractors and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in Government business in one year, from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and requires that government contractors take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment.

E.O.13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, which clarifies that national origin discrimination under Title VI includes discrimination on the basis of limited English proficiency (LEP) and requires that the recipient take reasonable steps to ensure that LEP persons have meaningful access to programs and activities.

Any other applicable non-discrimination law(s).

Generally, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq, provides that it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge any individual or otherwise to discriminate against an individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individuals race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. However, Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-1(a), expressly exempts from the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of religion, a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities.

Applicants must ensure that individuals selected as beneficiaries of support under this grant meet the legal requirements consistent with Supreme Court Decisions including Fisher, Gratz, and Grutter.

Modifications/Prior Approval NRCs prior written approval may be required before a Recipient makes certain budget modifications or undertakes particular activities. If NRC approval is required for changes in the grant or cooperative agreement, it must be requested and obtained from the NRC Grants Officer in advance of the change or obligation of funds. All requests for NRC prior approval, including requests for extensions to the period of performance extension, must be made, in writing (which includes submission by e-mail), to the designated Grants Officer at least 30 business days before the proposed change. The request must be signed by the authorized organizational official. Failure to obtain prior approval, when required, from the NRC Grants

31310018M0036 Page 14 of 27 Officer, may result in the disallowance of costs, or other enforcement action within NRC's authority.

No-Cost Extension Requests that are not received in a timely manner as described above may result in requests being disapproved by the NRC Program Managers and Grant Officer.

Lobbying Restrictions The Recipient will comply, as applicable, with provisions of the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 1501-1508 and 7324-7328) which limits the political activities of employees whose principal employment activities are funded in whole or in part with Federal funds.

The Recipient will comply with provisions of 31 U.S.C § 1352. This provision generally prohibits the use of Federal funds for lobbying in the Executive or Legislative Branches of the Federal Government in connection with the award, and requires disclosure of the use of non-Federal funds for lobbying.

The Recipient shall submit, at the time of application, a completed Certification Regarding Lobbying form, regardless of dollar value.

If applicable, the Recipient receiving in excess of $100,000.00 in Federal funding shall submit a completed Standard Form (SF-LLL), Disclosure of Lobbying Activities for any persons engaged in lobbying activities, as discussed at 31 U.S. Code § 1352 - Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracting and financial transactions. The form concerns the use of non-Federal funds for lobbying within 30 days following the end of the calendar quarter in which there occurs any event that requires disclosure or that materially affects the accuracy of the information contained in any disclosure form previously filed. If the Recipient must submit the SF-LLL, including those received from sub-recipients, contractors, and subcontractors, to the Grants Officer.

Debarment And Suspension - (See 2 CFR Part 180; 2 CFR § 200.205; 2 CFR § 200.113; and 2 CFR Part 200, Appendix II.)

The Recipient agrees to notify the Grants Officer immediately upon learning that it or any of its principals:

(1) Are presently excluded or disqualified from covered transactions by any Federal department or agency; (2) Have been convicted, within the preceding three-year period preceding this proposal, of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, tax evasion, receiving stolen property, making false claims, or obstruction of justice; commission of any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business honesty that seriously and directly affects the recipients present responsibility; (3) Are presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity (Federal, State, or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (1)(b); or

31310018M0036 Page 15 of 27 (4) Have had one or more public transactions (Federal, State, or local) terminated for cause or default within the preceding three years.

(5) The Recipient agrees that, unless authorized by the Grants Officer, it will not knowingly enter into any subaward or contracts under this grant/cooperative agreement with a person or entity that is not included on the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov).

The Recipient further agrees to include the following provision in any subaward or contracts entered into under this award:

Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary Exclusion The Recipient certifies that neither it nor its principals is presently excluded or disqualified from participation in this transaction by any Federal department or agency. The policies and procedures applicable to debarment, suspension, and ineligibility under NRC-financed transactions are set forth 2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR Part 200.

Drug-Free Workplace The Recipient must be in compliance with The Federal Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988. The policies and procedures applicable to violations of these requirements are set forth in 41 U.S.C.

§§ 8101-8106.

Implementation of E.O.13224 - Executive Order on Terrorist Financing The Recipient is reminded that U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. It is the legal responsibility of the Recipient to ensure compliance with these Executive Orders and laws. This provision must be included in all contracts/sub-awards issued under this grant/cooperative agreement.

The Recipient must comply with E.O. 13224, Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Persons who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism. Information about this Executive Order can be found at:

Implementation of Executive Order 13224 Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism amended by E.O. 13268, 13284, and 13372.

Procurement Standards - 2 CFR §§ 200.318-200.326 Sections 200.318 - 200.326 set forth standards for use by Recipients in establishing procedures for the procurement of supplies and other expendable property, equipment, real property and other services with Federal funds. These standards are furnished to ensure that such materials and services are obtained in an effective manner and in compliance with the provisions of applicable Federal statutes and executive orders. No additional procurement standards or requirements will be imposed by the Federal awarding agencies upon Recipients, unless specifically required by Federal statute, executive order, or approved by OMB.

Travel and Transportation

31310018M0036 Page 16 of 27 Travel must be in accordance with the Recipients Travel Regulations or the U.S. Government Travel Policy and Regulations at: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21222 and the per diem rates set forth at: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877, absent Recipients travel regulations. Travel and transportation costs for the grant must be consistent with provisions as established in 2 CFR § 200.473-474.

All other travel, domestic or international, must not increase the total estimated award amount for the grant.

The Recipient will comply with the provisions of the Fly America Act (49 U.S.C 40118), as implemented at 41 CFR §§ 301-10.131 through 301-10.143.

Federal funds may not be used to travel to countries identified under the US Department of States, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Country Policies and Embargoes, http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/embargoed_countries/index.html.

Property Standards Property standards of this award shall follow provisions as established 2 CFR §§ 200.310-200.316.

Intangible Property Intangible and intellectual property of this award shall generally follow provisions established in 2 CFR § 200.315.

Inventions Report - The Bayh-Dole Act (P.L.96-517) affords Recipients the right to elect and retain title to inventions they develop with funding under an NRC grant award (subject inventions). In accepting an award, the Recipient agrees to comply with applicable NRC policies, the Bayh-Dole Act, and its Government-wide implementing regulations found at Title 37, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 401. A significant part of the regulations require that the Recipient report all subject inventions to the awarding agency (NRC) as well as include an acknowledgement of federal support in any patents.

Patent Notification Procedures - If the NRC or its Recipients, without making a patent search, knows (or has demonstrable reasonable grounds to know) that technology covered by a valid United States patent has been or will be used without a license from the owner, E.O.12889 requires NRC to notify the owner. If the Recipient uses or has used patented technology under this award without license or permission from the owner, the Recipient must notify the Grants Officer. This notice does not imply that the Government authorizes and consents to any copyright or patent infringement occurring under the financial assistance.

Data, Databases, and Software - The rights to any work produced or purchased under a NRC federal financial assistance award, such as data, databases or software are determined by Subpart D of 2 CFR Part 200. The Recipient owns any work produced or purchased under a NRC federal financial assistance award subject to NRCs right to obtain, reproduce, publish or otherwise use the work or authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish or otherwise use the data for Government purposes.

31310018M0036 Page 17 of 27 Copyright - The Recipient may copyright any work produced under a NRC federal financial assistance award subject to NRCs royalty-free nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish or otherwise use the work or authorize others to do so for Government purposes. Works jointly authored by NRC and Recipient employees may be copyrighted, but only the part authored by the Recipient is protected because, under 17 U.S.C. § 105, works produced by Government employees are not copyrightable in the United States. On occasion, NRC may ask the Recipient to transfer to NRC its copyright in a particular work when NRC is undertaking the primary dissemination of the work. Ownership of copyright by the Government through assignment is permitted under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

Record Retention and Access Recipient shall follow established provisions in 2 CFR §§ 200.333-337.

Conflict Of Interest Conflict of Interest standards for this award will follow the Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCOI) requirements set forth in Section 170A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and provisions set forth at 2 CFR § 200.112, Conflict of Interest.

Dispute Review Procedures a.

Any request for review of a notice of termination or other adverse decision should be addressed to the Grants Officer. It must be postmarked or transmitted electronically no later than 30 days after the postmarked date of such termination or adverse decision from the Grants Officer.

b.

The request for review must contain a full statement of the Recipients position and the pertinent facts and reasons in support of such position.

c.

The Grants Officer will promptly acknowledge receipt of the request for review and shall forward it to the Director, Acquisition Management Division, unless otherwise delegated, who shall appoint an intra-agency Appeal Board to review a recipient appeal of an agency action, if required, which will consist of the program office director, the Deputy Director of Office of Administration, and the Office of General Counsel, or their designees.

d.

Pending resolution of the request for review, the NRC may withhold or defer payments under the award during the review proceedings.

e.

The review committee will request the Grants Officer who issued the notice of termination or adverse action to provide copies of all relevant background materials and documents. The committee may, at its discretion, invite representatives of the Recipient and the NRC program office to discuss pertinent issues and to submit such additional information as it deems appropriate. The chairman of the review committee will insure that all review activities or proceedings are adequately documented.

f.

Based on its review, the committee will prepare its recommendation to the Director, Office of Administration, who will advise the parties concerned of his/her decision.

Remedies for Noncompliance

31310018M0036 Page 18 of 27 Termination of this award will follow provisions as established and described above in Dispute Review Process in 2 CFR §§ 200.338-342.

Performance and Financial Monitoring and Reporting - 2 CFR §§ 200.327-329 Recipient Financial Management systems must comply with the provisions in 2 CFR § 200.302.

Payment - 2 CFR § 200.305

Cost Share or Matching - 2 CFR § 200.306 o

Recipients are to be careful with providing excessive cost share or match since at the end of the grant, if the identified match has not been provided, then a portion of the federal share may be required to be returned to the Government.

Program Income - 2 CFR § 200.307 o

Earned program income, if any, will be added to funds committed to the project by the NRC and Recipient and used to further eligible project or program objectives or be deducted from the total project cost for the grant, as directed by the Grants Officer or indicated in the terms and conditions of the award.

Revision of Budget and Program Plans - 2 CFR § 200.308 o

The Recipient is required to report deviations from the approved budget and program descriptions in accordance with - 2 CFR § 200.308(b) and request prior written approval from the Project Officer and the Grants Officer.

o The Recipient is not authorized to re-budget between direct costs and indirect costs without written prior approval of the Grants Officer.

o The Recipient is authorized to transfer funds among direct cost categories up to a cumulative 10 percent of the total approved budget. The Recipient is not allowed to transfer funds if the transfer would cause any Federal appropriation to be used for purposes other than those consistent with the original intent of the appropriation.

o Allowable Costs - 2 CFR §§ 200.403

See section 2 CFR §§ 200.330-332 for Subrecipient Monitoring and Management.

FEDERAL FINANCIAL REPORTS Federal Financial Reports (SF-425) are semi-annually, for the periods ending March 31 and September 30, or any portion thereof, regardless of the award date. Reports are due within 30 calendar days following the end of the reporting period and must be submitted through FedConnect. The SF-425 form and instructions are available at Grant.gov.

PERFORMANCE PROGRESS REPORTS The performance (technical) progress report indicated below is subject to 2 CFR §200.328.

Faculty Development Performance reports must be submitted semi-annually, for the periods ending

31310018M0036 Page 19 of 27 March 31 and September 30, or any portion thereof, regardless of the award date.

Reports are due within 30 days following the end of each reporting period and must be submitted through FedConnect. Click the link to find the required format and information when submitting the NRC Performance Progress Report (PPR).

Final Reports - The Recipient is required to submit final reports, both Financial (SF-425) and Performance within 90 days of the grant expiration. In addition to these reports, a final SF-428, Tangible property report, is also required, if applicable. The final PPR (for Scholarship, Fellowship, and Trade School and Community College Scholarship awards) must include the names of all students with up to date contact information (mailing address, telephone/cell phone, email address). The reports must be submitted through FedConnect.

Period of Performance - 2 CFR § 200.309 The recipient may charge to the Federal award only allowable costs incurred during the period of performance and any costs incurred before the NRC or pass-through entity made the Federal award that was authorized by the NRC or pass through entity.

Unless otherwise authorized in 2 CFR Part 200 or by special award condition, any extension of the award period can only be authorized by the Grants Officer in writing. Assurances of funding from other than the Grants Officer shall not constitute authority to obligate funds for programmatic activities beyond the expiration date.

The NRC Grant Officer may authorize a no cost extension of the period of performance. The recipient must submit a no cost extension request no less than 30 days prior to the award end date. Any request for a no cost extension after the grant has expired will not be approved. Any modification of the award to increase funding and/or to extend the period of performance is at the sole discretion of the NRC.

Incremental Funding (if applicable refer to Attachment A - AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS)

Additional funding for this award is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds, satisfactory performance, and the recipients capacity to manage the award and comply with award requirements. The Recipient agrees to perform work up to the amount obligated as specified in Attachment A of the grant award. NRC is not obligated to reimburse the Recipient for expenditures in excess of the total funds obligated by NRC. The Recipient is not authorized to continue performance beyond the amount obligated to this award. Any work performed by the grantee beyond the funding amount obligated in Section A will be at the grantees risk.

Automated Standard Application For Payments (ASAP) Procedures Unless otherwise stated, Recipient payments are made using the Department of Treasurys Automated Standard Application for Payment (ASAP) system, ASAP.gov, through preauthorized electronic funds transfers. To receive payments, Recipients are required to enroll with the Department of Treasury, Financial Management Service, and Regional Financial Centers, which allows them to use the on-line method of withdrawing funds from their ASAP established accounts. The following information is required to make ASAP withdrawals: (1)

ASAP account number - the award number found on the cover sheet of the award; (2) Agency Location Code (ALC) - 31000001; and Region Code. Recipients enrolled in the ASAP system do not need to submit a Request for Advance or Reimbursement (SF-270).

31310018M0036 Page 20 of 27 II. Audit Requirements Audits Organization-wide or program-specific audits are performed in accordance with the Single Audit Act of 1996, as amended, and as implemented by 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart FAUDIT REQUIREMENTS. Recipients are subject to the provisions of this subpart if they expend

$750,000 or more in a year in Federal awards. See 2 CFR 2 CFR § 200.501.

The Form SF-SAC and the Single Audit Reporting packages for fiscal periods ending on or after January 1, 2008 are submitted online, as follows:

1. Create the recipients online report ID at:

http://harvester.census.gov/fac/collect/ddeindex.html;

2. Complete the Form SF-SAC;

3. Upload the Single Audit;

4. Certify the Submission; and

5. Click Submit.

Organizations expending less than $750,000 a year are not required to have an annual audit for that year but must make their grant-related records available to NRC or other designated officials for review or audit.

III. Programmatic Requirements The recipient is responsible for providing documentation to the NRC that tracks each students progress in achievement of the academic program for which federal funds were provided. This includes: (1) ensuring the service agreement is signed by the student prior to providing support; (2) providing the NRC with student contact information upon student entry into the program, upon completion or withdrawal from the program, and upon request by the NRC; and (3) monitoring the students fulfillment of the service agreement for the duration of the award. The NRC shall be notified immediately if a student is not fulfilling the academic program or the service agreement.

Grant Performance Metrics The Office of Management and Budget requires all Federal Agencies providing funding for educational scholarships and fellowships as well as other educational related funding to report on specific metrics. These metrics are part of the Academic Competitiveness Councils (ACC) 2007 report and specifically relates to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curricula.

As part of the OMB requirements indicated above (for metric reporting), the recipient shall address the following questions and submit responses with the required progress reports:

Faculty Development Metrics:

1.

How many Faculty have been sponsored by NRC funding?

a.

Response is the number of faculty sponsored, for this reporting period and cumulative to the grant.

31310018M0036 Page 21 of 27 2.

How many items have the sponsored faculty produced, for example, Professional Journal articles, publications, patents, or conference reports?

a.

Response is the type and number of items (not a bibliography), for this reporting period and cumulative to the grant.

As part of the PPR, include the following information for each student supported under this award. The information must be provided in the format below:

Unsatisfactory Performance Failure to perform the work in accordance with the terms of the award and maintain at least a satisfactory performance rating may result in designation of the Recipient as high risk and the assignment of special award conditions. Further action may be required as specified in the standard term and condition entitled Remedies for Noncompliance.

Failure to comply with the award provisions may result in a negative impact on future NRC funding. In addition, the Grants Officer may withhold payments; change the method of payment from advance to reimbursement; impose special award conditions; suspend or terminate the grant.

Other Federal Awards With Similar Programmatic Activities The Recipient will immediately notify the Project Officer and the Grants Officer in writing if after award, other financial assistance is received to support or fund any portion of the program description stated in the NRC award. NRC will not pay for costs that are funded by other sources.

Prohibition Against Assignment By The Recipient The Recipient will not transfer, pledge, mortgage, or otherwise assign the award, or any interest to the award, or any claim arising under the award, to any party, banks, trust companies, or other financing or financial institutions without the written approval of the Grants Officer.

Site Visits The NRC, through authorized representatives, has the right to make site visits to review project accomplishments and management control systems and to provide technical assistance as required. If any site visit is made by the NRC on the premises of the Recipient or contractor under an award, the Recipient shall provide and shall require his/her contractors to provide reasonable access to all facilities and provide necessary assistance for the safety and convenience of the Government representative in the performance of his/her official duties.

IV. Additional Requirements Criminal and Prohibited Activities The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3801-3812), provides for the imposition of civil penalties against persons who make false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims to the Federal government for money (including money representing grant/cooperative agreements, loans, or other benefits).

31310018M0036 Page 22 of 27 False statements (18 U.S.C. § 287), provides that whoever makes or presents any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements, representations, or claims against the United States shall be subject to imprisonment of not more than five years and shall be subject to a fine in the amount provided by 18 USC §287.

False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.), provides that suits under this Act can be brought by the government, or a person on behalf of the government, for false claims under federal assistance programs.

Copeland Anti-Kickback Act (18 U.S.C. § 874), prohibits a person or organization engaged in a federally supported project from enticing an employee working on the project from giving up a part of his compensation under an employment contract.

American-Made Equipment and Products Recipients are encouraged to purchase American-made equipment and products with funding provided under this award.

Increasing Seat Belt Use in the United States E.O. 13043, amended by E.O. 13652, requires Recipients to encourage employees and contractors to enforce on-the-job seat belt policies and programs when operating company-owned, rented or personally-owned vehicle.

Federal Leadership of Reducing Text Messaging While Driving E.O. 13513 requires Recipients to encourage employees, sub-awardees, and contractors to adopt and enforce policies that ban text messaging while driving company-owned, rented vehicles or privately owned vehicles when on official Government business or when performing any work for or on behalf of the Federal Government.

Federal Employee Expenses Federal agencies are barred from accepting funds from a Recipient to pay transportation, travel, or other expenses for any Federal employee unless specifically approved in the terms of the award. Use of award funds (Federal or non-Federal) or the Recipients provision of in-kind goods or services, for the purposes of transportation, travel, or any other expenses for any Federal employee may raise appropriation augmentation issues. In addition, NRC policy prohibits the acceptance of gifts, including travel payments for Federal employees, from Recipients or applicants regardless of the source.

Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) Initiative Pursuant to E.O.s 13230 and 13270, amended by E.O. 13316 and 13385, 13532, 13592, 13555, 13515, and 13621, NRC is strongly committed to broadening the participation of MSIs in its financial assistance program. NRCs goals include achieving full participation of MSIs in order to advance the development of human potential, strengthen the Nations capacity to provide high-quality education, and increase opportunities for MSIs to participate in and benefit from Federal financial assistance programs. NRC encourages all applicants and recipients to include meaningful participations of MSIs. Institutions eligible to be considered MSIs are listed

31310018M0036 Page 23 of 27 on the Department of Education website: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html Research Misconduct Scientific or research misconduct refers to the fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. It does not include honest errors or differences of opinions. The Recipient organization has the primary responsibility to investigate allegations and provide reports to the Federal Government. Funds expended on an activity that is determined to be invalid or unreliable because of scientific misconduct may result in a disallowance of costs for which the institution may be liable for repayment to the awarding agency. The Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2000, a final policy that addressed research misconduct. The policy was developed by the National Science and Technology Council (65 FR 76260). The NRC requires that any allegation be submitted to the Grants Officer, who will also notify the OIG of such allegation. Generally, the Recipient organization shall investigate the allegation and submit its findings to the Grants Officer. The NRC may accept the Recipients findings or proceed with its own investigation. The Grants Officer shall inform the Recipient of the NRCs final determination.

Publications, Videos, and Acknowledgment of Sponsorship Publication of the results or findings of a research project in appropriate professional journals and production of video or other media is encouraged as an important method of recording and reporting scientific information. It is also a constructive means to expand access to federally funded research. The Recipient is required to submit a copy to the NRC and when releasing information related to a funded project include a statement that the project or effort undertaken was or is sponsored by the NRC. The Recipient is also responsible for assuring that every publication of material (including Internet sites and videos) based on or developed under an award, except scientific articles or papers appearing in scientific, technical or professional journals, contains the following disclaimer:

This [report/video] was prepared by [Recipient name] under award [number] from

[name of operating unit], Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the [name of operating unit] or the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Trafficking In Victims Protection Act Of 2000 (as amended by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003)

Section 106(g) of the Trafficking In Victims Protection Act Of 2000 (as amended as amended, directs on a government-wide basis that:

any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement provided or entered into by a Federal department or agency under which funds are to be provided to a private entity, in whole or in part, shall include a condition that authorizes the department or agency to terminate the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, without penalty, if the recipient or any subrecipient, or the contractor or any subcontractor (i) engages in severe forms of trafficking in persons or has procured a commercial sex act during the period of time that the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement is in effect, or (ii) uses forced labor in

31310018M0036 Page 24 of 27 the performance of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. (See 22 U.S.C.

§7104(g).)

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION REPORTING 2 CFR § 170.220 directs agencies to include the following text to each grant award to a non-federal entity if the total funding is $25,000 or more in Federal funding.

Reporting Subawards and Executive Compensation.

a. Reporting of first-tier subawards.

1. Applicability. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of this award term, you must report each action that obligates $25,000.00 or more in Federal funds that does not include Recovery funds (as defined in section 1512(a)(2) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5) for a subaward to an entity (see definitions in paragraph e. of this award term).

2. Where and when to report.

i. You must report each obligating action described in paragraph a.1. of this award term to http://www.fsrs.gov.

ii. For subaward information, report no later than the end of the month following the month in which the obligation was made. (For example, if the obligation was made on November 7, 2010, the obligation must be reported by no later than December 31, 2010.)

3. What to report. You must report the information about each obligating action that the submission instructions posted at http://www.fsrs.gov specify.

b. Reporting Total Compensation of Recipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. You must report total compensation for each of your five most highly compensated executives for the preceding completed fiscal year, if

i. the total Federal funding authorized to date under this award is $25,000.00 or more; ii. in the preceding fiscal year, you received (A) 80 percent or more of your annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR § 170.320 (and subawards); and (B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR § 170.320 (and subawards); and iii. The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To

31310018M0036 Page 25 of 27 determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm.)

2. Where and when to report. You must report executive total compensation described in paragraph b.1. of this award term:

i. As part of your registration profile at http://www.sam.gov.

ii. By the end of the month following the month in which this award is made, and annually thereafter.

c. Reporting of Total Compensation of Subrecipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of this award term, for each first-tier subrecipient under this award, you shall report the names and total compensation of each of the subrecipient's five most highly compensated executives for the subrecipient's preceding completed fiscal year, if

i. in the subrecipient's preceding fiscal year, the subrecipient received (A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR § 170.320 (and subawards); and (B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts), and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act (and subawards); and ii. The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm.)

2. Where and when to report. You must report subrecipient executive total compensation described in paragraph c.1. of this award term:

i. To the recipient.

ii. By the end of the month following the month during which you make the subaward. For example, if a subaward is obligated on any date during the month of October of a given year (i.e., between October 1 and 31), you must report any required compensation information of the subrecipient by November 30 of that year.

d. Exemptions If, in the previous tax year, you had gross income, from all sources, under $300,000.00, you are exempt from the requirements to report:

31310018M0036 Page 26 of 27

i. Subawards, and ii. The total compensation of the five most highly compensated executives of any subrecipient.

e. Definitions. For purposes of this award term:

1. Entity means all of the following, as defined in 2 CFR Part 25:

i. A Governmental organization, which is a State, local government, or Indian tribe; ii. A foreign public entity; iii. A domestic or foreign nonprofit organization; iv. A domestic or foreign for-profit organization;

v. A Federal agency, but only as a subrecipient under an award or subaward to a non-Federal entity.

2. Executive means officers, managing partners, or any other employees in management positions.

3. Subaward:

i. This term means a legal instrument to provide support for the performance of any portion of the substantive project or program for which you received this award and that you as the recipient award to an eligible subrecipient.

ii. The term does not include your procurement of property and services needed to carry out the project or program (for further explanation, see Sec. __.210 of the attachment to OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations) iii. A subaward may be provided through any legal agreement, including an agreement that you or a subrecipient considers a contract.

4. Subrecipient means an entity that:

i. Receives a subaward from you (the recipient) under this award; and ii. Is accountable to you for the use of the Federal funds provided by the subaward.

5. Total compensation means the cash and noncash dollar value earned by the executive during the recipient's or subrecipient's preceding fiscal year and includes the following (for more information see 17 CFR § 229.402(c)(2)):

i. Salary and bonus.

31310018M0036 Page 27 of 27 ii. Awards of stock, stock options, and stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar amount recognized for financial statement reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal year in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised 2004)

(FAS 123R), Shared Based Payments.

iii. Earnings for services under non-equity incentive plans. This does not include group life, health, hospitalization or medical reimbursement plans that do not discriminate in favor of executives, and are available generally to all salaried employees.

iv. Change in pension value. This is the change in present value of defined benefit and actuarial pension plans.

v. Above-market earnings on deferred compensation which is not tax-qualified.

vi. Other compensation, if the aggregate value of all such other compensation (e.g., severance, termination payments, value of life insurance paid on behalf of the employee, perquisites or property) for the executive exceeds $10,000.00.