Three Illinois universities are getting $2.8 million in federal research grants, scholarships and fellowships to train future leaders in the nuclear industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that the money would go to the Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Secretary Steven Chu says the investment will encourage innovations that will create jobs and export opportunities.

Most of the money - $1.6 million - goes to Northwestern for research on fuel cycle technologies.

The University of Illinois will get about $876,000 to develop reactor designs and technologies. Another $5,000 will fund an undergraduate scholarship for one student at the university for a degree in the nuclear field.

The Illinois Institute of Technology gets $300,000 to buy equipment for its research reactor.