Nuclear engineering

A core centre of expertise, driving cross-University collaboration to turn research into real-world solutions.

Invited members of the Henry Royce Institute, the UK’s flagship centre for advanced materials.

Part of Dalton Nuclear Institute, home to the most comprehensive nuclear research portfolio in UK academia.

Developing the future nuclear workforce via three dedicated Centres for Doctoral Training.

Enabling global nuclear solutions

Our nuclear engineering research addresses the challenges of the past, present, and future of nuclear power generation.

From ensuring the safety of the current civil nuclear fleet to helping realise the potential of next-generation reactor systems, our combination of world-leading expertise and state-of-the-art facilities enables us to find transformative solutions. Working with industry and partners both in the UK and internationally, these solutions have already, and will continue to, make a real-world impact in this vital field.

Nuclear energy research drives the development of safe, clean, and reliable power solutions – offering a sustainable path to meet growing energy demands while reducing future carbon emissions and combating climate change for us all.

Paul Mummery - Group Lead and Professor of Nuclear Materials

Research

Our areas of research

Nuclear facilities

Unrivalled capabilities

We have access to a network of facilities with unrivalled capabilities housed in the Henry Royce Institute.

This incorporates both the Nuclear Fuel Centre of Excellence and the Irradiated Materials Facility. This capability enables safe handling and testing of radioactive materials, supporting world-leading research into nuclear performance, safety, and the development of next-generation reactor materials and cutting-edge research across the nuclear fuel cycle, from fabrication to disposal – advancing safer, more efficient, and sustainable fuel technologies.

Discover more on the Henry Royce Institute website

Study with us

Training the new leaders in nuclear

We offer PhD and EngD studentships, in both fission and fusion, through three Centres for Doctoral Training:

Fusion Engineering

Doctoral students at the Fusion Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training will work on real-world fusion engineering challenges, collaborating with industrial partners, to earn a Doctor of Engineering (EngD) qualification over the four-year programme.

Fusion Power

The Centre for Doctoral Training in Fusion Power provides training from world-leading experts in a range of fusion-relevant disciplines, including materials science, plasma physics, nuclear physics, technology, laser physics, and instrumentation.

SATURN

The Centre for Doctoral Training in Skills And Training Underpinning a Renaissance in Nuclear provides high quality research training in science and engineering, focused on advancing nuclear fission technology.