Renewal of Nuclear Energy Futures CDT

4 February 2019

Several members of the South West Nuclear Hub are celebrating the renewal of the Nuclear Energy Futures Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), funded by EPSRC.

The centre, led by Imperial College London, involves the University of Bristol, EDF Energy, Cavendish Nuclear and the National Nuclear Laboratory alongside many other collaborators. Other main University partners are the Open University, Bangor University and the University of Cambridge.

Nuclear Energy Futures

The CDT in Nuclear Energy Futures trains the next leaders in nuclear energy. The Centre focuses on key challenges for the industry such as reducing costs of both nuclear waste disposal and building new nuclear power stations. It also looks at future power station designs and fusion power.

Commenting on the announcement, Professor David Knowles, CDT Academic Lead for the University of Bristol, said "This is an fantastic announcement which cements Bristol’s credentials as a UK leader in Nuclear Fission and Fusion Energy research and training.

The CDT is in partnership with Imperial College and Cambridge, which broadens our national engagement across the nuclear sector. The teaching and cohort programme associated with the CDT is squarely aimed at developing future technical leaders for the industry and will add a dynamic new dimension to the PhD projects undertaken".

Significant success for the University of Bristol

As well as this success in nuclear, the University of Bristol has also been awarded funding as lead institution for nine CDTs – the highest number awarded to any university in the country. This includes:

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Innovation in Non-Destructive Evaluation (FIND)
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Composites Science, Engineering and Manufacturing
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Autonomous Robotic Systems (FARSCOPE-TU: Towards Ubiquity)
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security in Large-scale Infrastructures (TIPS-at-Scale)

You can see the full list of the announced CDTs on the EPSRC website.

Further information

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. By investing in research and postgraduate training, we are building the knowledge and skills base needed to address the scientific and technological challenges facing the nation.

EPSRC is part of UK Research and Innovation, a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. We aim to maximise the contribution of each of our component parts, working individually and collectively. We work with our many partners to benefit everyone through knowledge, talent and ideas.