Nuclear Energy MPhil, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

Interested in a career in clean energy? Apply to our Nuclear Energy Masters course? https://www.cnec.uk/programmes/masters
The deadline for applications is a month away. If you have any questions, just ask via email:
[email protected]

Nuclear Energy Programmes - Masters — Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre The MPhil in Nuclear Energy, sponsored by the Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre, is a one year full-time nuclear technology and business masters for engineers, mathematicians and scientists who wish to make a difference to the problems of climate change and energy security, by developing nuclear power

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world." Einstein's words welcomed us to the training centre during our recent visit to the Westinghouse Electric Company site at Springfields where we learned that an electric vehicle could circle the world 50 times with the electricity generated from a single Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) fuel pin.

We were guided through the end-to-end manufacturing process for nuclear fuel, where the uranium pellets, resembling dark, cylindrical necklace beads, are used in both AGRs and LWRs (Light Water Reactors). But it was the passion and dedication of our guides, some of whom have worked at Springfields for their whole career, which brought the processes to life. They also embodied the characteristics that are a key strength of the nuclear industry - safety and security - with a focus across site on criticality control.

The Springfields site has been in use since the 1940s and cyclical periods of growth have mirrored the fortunes of the UK and global nuclear industry. In 2010, Springfields became a part of Westinghouse global nuclear business and after a period of steady state operation, the future looks bright for Springfields with new opportunities being actively pursued, including fuels for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) – potentially Westinghouse’s own AP300 SMR as well as other advanced fuel types. The site seems ready to undergo its own renaissance which can only be good for the local community and for the nuclear industry in the UK.

Thank you to our hosts

We have had a busy time in the lead up to the start of the new Term squeezing in mock exams, visits and talks about Project choices.

Our thanks to colleagues at EDF's Sizewell B Visitor Centre staff for being such great hosts for our visit early on in January.

Report by student, Berenice, "We welcomed the new year by braving the snowy winds of the north sea to visit the UK's own and only pressurised water reactor in Sizewell.

As we entered the premises of the site, the cohort had the opportunity to exchange with the interactive activities dedicated to the wider public such as testing different shielding materials and their response to a small dose of radioactive material.

The visit then continued with an outdoor tour of the power plant, with a strong emphasis on the defence in depth safety systems put in place in Sizewell B. From the first outdoor steps, we were faced by a stone with EDF's prime mission : "safety is our priority".

Our enthusiastic and passionate tour guides then showed us to one of the most impressive parts of the visits (and not only because it was inside): the steam turbines. Armed with gloves, safety glasses and strong ear protection, we entered the room where around 2MW of the UK's national grid is produced. From the gigantic superconductors to the speed and vibrations of the turbine, the students had the opportunity to discover the materialisation of the nuclear electricity systems some of us first just encountered a few months ago. Thank you to our tour guides for such an informative visit."

It was a great pleasure to welcome Abigail Luxton, our course alumna, now Head of Nuclear Technology at HM Treasury, her colleague Nick Glanvile, and Si Dilks from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero at our Industry Club meeting.
The Government team provided a fascinating update on the necessarily ambitious plans, timelines and challenges for deployment of a variety of nuclear technologies. In this unique forum of the Government, industry and academia, we had incredibly useful discussions on how universities can help the country's efforts in achieving its climate and energy goals.
The meeting participants also had a chance to discuss their views on current and future job opportunities within the nuclear industry and civil service. Thank you Abi and all the participants for your contributions to the meeting!

We are delighted to announce that Dr Nathaniel Read has been appointed the Nuclear Energy MPhil Course Director from the start of the 2023 academic year. Nathan joins us as Assistant Teaching Professor and has been a Research Associate in the Group so he already has a wealth of experience in teaching nuclear modules and has a particular passion for Space Reactors.

Nathan said “I am looking forward to taking over from Eugene Shwageraus and building upon my experience gained to date”.

Having handed in their Dissertations, the students enjoyed an end of course lunch.

Prof Eugene Shwageraus gave a talk this week on the current situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. We were very pleased to make this a hybrid event and the video can also be found here:

Seminar on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant This June 2023 talk on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine was prompted by recent concerns in the media about the status of the cooling system an...

Congratulations to our alumna, Sannah H.P van B***n for gaining the Cambridge - McKinsey Risk Prize Winner Award for the paper "Rethinking low-level radiation risks: The Linear Non Threshold (LNT) Model for radiation and its scientific validity."

We are very grateful to colleagues at the Nuclear Medicine Department of Addenbrooke's Hospital for our tour last Thursday. To Daniel Gillett for organising our visit and to Rosy Crawford for her time and explanations. Thank you, we all found it so interesting and informative.

If you want to be a part of this course, you have up until 23:59 on 16 May to apply, before applications close: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegmpmne/apply

Interested in a career in clean energy? Applications for our course close on 16 May, to apply: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegmpmne
Want more information ... https://www.cnec.uk/programmes/masters

Nuclear Energy Programmes - Masters — Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre The MPhil in Nuclear Energy, sponsored by the Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre, is a one year full-time nuclear technology and business masters for engineers, mathematicians and scientists who wish to make a difference to the problems of climate change and energy security, by developing nuclear power

We are very pleased to announce the completion of our Course Information Video – do take a look. With thanks to Eugene Shwageraus, Paul Cosgrove, Sannah H.P van B***n and Nathan Read and to Graham CopeKoga Photography for the production. If you would like to know more, please contact Jo Boyle on [email protected]

We are grateful to our Industry Club Members for supporting the course Jacobs, Urenco Global, Framatome, AWE, Westinghouse Electric Company, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and CNPRI.

Nuclear Energy Masters Course at the University of Cambridge The demands of Net Zero and energy security have spurred significant interest and investment in nuclear energy. One of the greatest challenges to realising a...

Are you considering applying to our course? Hear what Marion Wales (alumna from 2021-22 says about it)

As I became aware of the vital role of energy, I quickly got convinced that Nuclear Energy could bring invaluable benefits to our societies while solving many pressing issues. I also had a strong motivation to discover the UK, and studying in Cambridge to develop an in-depth understanding of Nuclear Power made perfect sense. Hence the MPhil in Nuclear Energy, which appealed to me with the wide range of disciplines it covered. And I wasn’t disappointed!

Throughout the year, I truly enjoyed the quality of the various courses as it enabled me to navigate the different perspectives of this multifaceted subject. I am also thankful for the personalised curriculum and support from the Department team. The field trips were definitely a plus, to get an idea of what the very unique Nuclear Industry looks like. In addition, a privileged networking system allowed me to discuss current developments in the sector with experienced Industry Members.
Presently, I am working at TotalEnergies, where I learn about other energies and the global energy scene, and I can’t be grateful enough for the insights acquired during my time in Cambridge: an international perspective and solid fundamentals provided by the lessons of Nuclear Power.



Apply here BY 16 May for the 2023-24 academic year: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegmpmne

We have been honoured to host Dr Thomas Sutton this week – nuclear engineer and Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and one of the main developers of the MC21 Monte Carlo code. Tom told us about his investigations of neutron clustering, real and apparent variance estimation, and minimising the maximum variances in Monte Carlo calculations.

Thank you, Tom, for your fascinating talks throughout the week.

The deadline for applications to our Nuclear Energy MPhil is 16 May, if you want to discuss whether this course is for you, please send us an email: [email protected]

Simon Billiet (Alumnus 2020-21) said "I enjoyed how the course was not solely theoretical but had a very broad perspective on nuclear energy, in particular the policy, business, and societal aspects in the 21st century. The course also organizes many field-trips and is a platform to meet many interesting people from the industry."

https://www.cnec.uk/programmes/masters

Only few weeks left to apply for Nuclear Energy MPhil, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge.
Check out our website for details: https://www.cnec.uk/programmes/masters
Applications are closing 16 May - Don't miss it!
Apply here: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegmpmne

Nuclear Energy Programmes - Masters — Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre The MPhil in Nuclear Energy, sponsored by the Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre, is a one year full-time nuclear technology and business masters for engineers, mathematicians and scientists who wish to make a difference to the problems of climate change and energy security, by developing nuclear power

We are very grateful to UKAEA for hosting our visit yesterday and touring us around the facilities. Also thanks go to Greys of Ely for once again driving us all safely.

We had a very enjoyable time meeting with Industry Club Members of the Nuclear Energy MPhil Course yesterday, even putting on our first Careers Event. With thanks to Industry Club members from AWE, Framatome, Jacobs, Rolls-Royce, Urenco Global, Westinghouse Electric Company for talking to our students about career opportunities.

So pleased for Paul - especially as he is an alumnus of the MPhil in Nuclear Energy. Many congratulations Paul Cosgrove

Department of Engineering Find out about our courses, the application process, and the Department's procedures for both prospective and current students.

Looking forward to this talk tomorrow!
Please join us to learn about nuclear energy as well as explore postgraduate education and career oportunities.

Come to this talk on the physics of nuclear energy this Thursday!

Abstract:
Popular coverage of nuclear energy would have us believe that nuclear reactors are prohibitively expensive, slow to build, dangerous to operate and produce uniquely troublesome waste. In this talk Professor Eugene Shwageraus from Cambridge University will explore these myths and explain why nuclear energy is more necessary than ever.

Tony Roulstone has been in the news following article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/12/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-could-bring-limitless-clean-energy/

Tony wrote a piece for on inertia fusion.

“It is reported that the National Ignition Facility (NIF) has surpassed one of its own targets to exceed scientific energy gain. They put 1.8 MJ and got 2.5 MJ out - proving that energy can be successfully released and gained by a Deuterium-Tritium fusion reaction. This is positive - the failure to achieve scientific energy gain in 2012 ended the run of experiments for which NIF was built. Now they have worked on the design and the make-up of the target and the shape of the energy pulse to get much better results.

Although positive news, this result is still a long way from the actual energy gain required for the production of electricity. That’s because they had to use 500 MJ of energy into the lasers to deliver 1.8 MJ to the target – so even though they got 2.5 MJ out, it’s still far less than the energy they needed for the lasers in the first place. In other words, the energy output (largely heat energy) was still only 0.5% of the input. An engineering target for fusion would be to recover much of the energy used in the process and get an energy gain of double the energy that went into the lasers – it needs to be double because the heat must be converted to electricity and you lose energy that way.

Therefore we can say that this result from NIF is a success of the science - but still a long way from providing useful, abundant, clean energy.”

Nuclear fusion breakthrough ‘could bring limitless clean energy’ US scientists set to reveal they have achieved ’holy grail’ of getting more energy out of a fusion reaction than it took to trigger it

Holtec International Britain’s Director of Operations, Gareth Thomas, spoke at the Pembroke College Cambridge Old Library to Nuclear Energy MPhil, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge students and Cambridge University Energy Technology Society - CUETS audience and presented latest developments in Holtec’s SMR design.

Thank you Gareth for educational and inspiring talk!

Marion Wales (alumna from 2021-22) has started her new job at TotalEnergies in Paris. Marion was an award winner from the course, gaining the highest marks in the exams. Well done Marion and good luck with your new job.

Meet our Course Scholar ... Rohan "The course scholarship covers over half your fees if you're a home student, which is a significant financial burden to alleviate. I have always been intrigued in nuclear science and energy, so being awarded the scholarship felt like a good sign to me that I have chosen the right path.

The MPhil in Nuclear Energy is a challenging but rewarding programme of study. The technical content is fascinating, learning the physics of reactors and intricacies of how reactors are designed really builds your understanding and appreciation for these incredibly complex systems. All the staff are clearly passionate about nuclear, and Cambridge is an incredible learning environment. If you're interested in either a career in the nuclear industry, or preparation for a PhD, I would recommend applying!"

For more information on email: [email protected]

We're half way through the teaching term, the clocks have gone back and we're all still smiling! The Nuclear Energy MPhil students are looking forward to the next half of term and in particular the additional elements of our course ... want to hear more? Please get in contact, email: [email protected]

Do you want to be a part of ? Applications are now open: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegmpmne

If you are thinking of applying to the Nuclear Energy Masters Course there is a fully-funded scholarship opportunity for African students to pursue full-time Master's degrees at Cambridge. With a deadline of 25 November you need to move quickly!
https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/funding-overview/mastercard-foundation-scholars-program-university-cambridge

It was great seeing Madeline Prince yesterday when she came to the Department of Engineering to receive her course award for the Best Project and Dissertation for the academic year 2021-22. Maddie's project was entitled "Radiation Transport Modelling Through Buildings".

Are you in your final year of Uni? Unsure about your next step? Applications have now opened for the Nuclear Energy Masters course at the University of Cambridge.
Hear what some alumni have to say:
"The MPhil gave me the deep technical skills to tackle industry-leading problems ..."
"The MPhil provided me with very useful research experience to prepare me to work in real-life projects"
"The Nuclear Energy MPhil course and the people involved in it made my Cambridge experience truly extraordinary"
Feel free to get in contact with any queries: [email protected]

A great story from two alumni from our Nuclear Energy Masters Course.

Alumni stories: Meet the team on a mission to supercharge your sustainability efforts Alectro’s vision is to encourage every business and employee to take responsibility for improving their own carbon footprint. To help with this process, Tim and Bertie have developed a Virtual Sustainability Officer™ platform, providing companies and employees with the tools they need to success...