I have been interested in fusion technology ever since I visited JET at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy when I was on a school trip and the science behind the plasma facing walls was explained to me.
I completed my MEng in Materials Science at the University of Oxford; my final year project was investigating the feasibility of vacuum plasma spraying (VPS) utilising a Y-containing steel feedstock powder for manufacture of fuel rod cladding in nuclear fission reactors.
Now I am studying for a DPhil, researching ‘Advanced Manufacture and Characterisation of Thick Tungsten Coatings for Nuclear Fusion’ – again using the VPS to process these coatings. I will be developing how these thick coatings can be made stronger and thicker whilst improving their adhesion to the steel substrates. This project is supervised by Prof David Armstrong and Prof Patrick Grant.