The ongoing decarbonization efforts in the United States require a combination of various energy technologies with a low carbon foot print, including nuclear energy. A summary of recent progress in nuclear materials chemistry involved in the synthesis and performance of advanced nuclear fuels, as well as their disposal to increase the safety and efficiency of the nuclear energy sector will be presented. Utilization of wet-chemical, innovative synthesis approaches in combination with a wide range of characterization tools, facilitate a better understanding of the structure-property relationships of advanced nuclear fuel and its waste forms. This knowledge is applied to tailor and fine-tune materials with targeted functionality that relies on a well-defined set of physical properties, with a strong emphasis on the versatile sol-gel technique. Such approach enables to fabricate a large variety of feedstock for high-performance nuclear fuels for current and future reactor types (LWRs, SMRs, HTGRs), while suppressing airborne radioactive particles. Several classes of materials will be discussed, including complex oxides for radioisotope power systems and fusion breeder blanket materials. In addition, the systematic understanding of the role of defects as well as dopants such as Mn, Cr towards the enhanced performance and safety of high-performance UO2 fuel candidates will be discussed. Besides novel fuels, research aimed to advance the current state of the art for nuclear waste management will be presented. Ongoing efforts at UCI are supported by the recently established cluster of nuclear chemistry laboratories in combination with the TRIGA reactor and characterization facilities and will be briefly introduced.