The Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) mission is to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet U.S. energy, environmental, and economic needs. NE has identified the following goals to address challenges in the nuclear energy sector, help realize the potential of advanced technology, and leverage the unique role of the government in spurring innovation: • Keep existing U.S. nuclear reactors operating. • Deploy new nuclear reactors. • Secure and sustain our nuclear fuel cycle. • Expand international nuclear energy cooperation. NE strives to promote integrated and collaborative research conducted by national laboratory, university, industry, and international partners under the direction of NE’s programs, and to deploy innovative nuclear energy technologies to the market and to optimize the benefits of nuclear energy. All applications submitted under this CINR FOA must demonstrate a strong tie to at least one of the four mission priorities and highlight how it supports the DOE priorities. Applications focused specifically in areas not of interest to the NE mission, such as fusion energy, medical physics, nuclear forensics, or environmental management, will not be reviewed or considered. This CINR FOA provides competitive R&D opportunities through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) and the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF). NEUP supports university-led infrastructure and R&D projects relevant to the NE mission. NSUF provides access to material test reactors, beamlines, and post-irradiation examination facilities to researchers from U.S. universities, industry, and national laboratories.