National Student Conference in Fusion Engineering
Tuesday 7–Wednesday 8 July 2026
The University of Sheffield
Developing the future voices of fusion engineering
We are very pleased to host a new National Student Conference in Fusion Engineering, which aims to give postgraduate researchers the opportunity to hone their talents at presenting in a warm and welcoming environment. It's a great chance to network with peers, industry professionals, and academics within the fusion sector. Postgraduate students may submit an abstract to present for 10 or 15 minutes, or give a flash presentation with a poster, depending on their year of their doctoral research programme.
Open to undergraduates: If you’re currently an undergraduate student that would like the opportunity to explore both PhD and industrial opportunities in fusion engineering, use our free afternoon ticket option to register. We will offer a maximum of 30 undergraduate tickets.
Conference Location:
The Edge, Endcliffe Village, University of Sheffield, S10 3ED
Call for Abstracts now open until 31 May
We welcome abstracts from postgraduate researchers from across UK and international institutions, in any year of their PhD, in a topic that is relevant to the engineering challenges for delivery of fusion energy.
Suitable topics will be relevant to the design, build, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of a fusion energy power plant, and includes broader topics such as community, communication and supply chain themes. We therefore welcome abstracts in topics across Engineering, Science, Communications and Mathematical disciplines.
We will offer a maximum of 30 presentation places.
Please note that if accepted, you agree to register for the conference using the free ‘Presenters’ option. You will also be given a voucher for wood-fired pizza at the end of the conference Day 1 in Sheffield’s Botanical Gardens. Authors will need to arrange any travel and accommodation requirements themselves.
Registration
Day Delegate — £100
Access to all conference sessions on 7–8 July, including lunches and a wood-fired pizza voucher for Day 1 at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.
Conference Dinner — £60
Join us from 7:30pm on 8 July at The Mowbray for an arrival cocktail, buffet dinner and half bottle of wine.
Available as an add-on when booking a Day Delegate ticket.
Presenters, Industry and Supervisors — Free
Access to all conference sessions on 7–8 July, including lunches.
Undergraduate Afternoon Ticket — Free
Access to afternoon conference sessions only.
Conference programme
Day One — Tuesday 7 July
9am–5pm
Four themed presentation sessions, including four keynote speakers.
6pm–8pm
Wood-fired pizza evening at Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Day Two — Wednesday 8 July
9am–5pm
Four themed presentation sessions, including four keynote speakers. Prize awards for best presentations
7:30pm–11pm
Conference Dinner at The Mowbray
Speakers
Professor Simone Carusotti, Tuscia University
The TRUST tokamak: building a university-based fusion engineering project, from scientific vision to design realisation.
Dr. Simone Carusotti is an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Nuclear Fusion Engineering at the University of Tuscia (UNITUS), Italy, within the Department of Economics, Engineering, Society and Business Organization (DEIM). His research focuses on the design and development of engineering systems for tokamaks and fusion-energy applications, including electromagnetic and structural modelling, high-temperature superconducting coil design, magnetic diagnostics, and experimental infrastructure. He is the coordinator of the TRUST project, a university-based tokamak initiative dedicated to fusion engineering research, education, and experimental development. He has also contributed to the EUROfusion programme and is actively involved in teaching and thesis supervision in nuclear fusion technologies at UNITUS.
Dr Sehila Gonzalez de Vicente. Global Director, Fusion Energy. CATF
Fusion Energy: Industry Status and Critical Gaps to Commercialization
Sehila M. Gonzalez de Vicente holds a PhD in Materials Physics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) and an MBA from the EOI Business School. She has 20 years of experience in fusion technologies, policy, and economic aspects. She is currently the Global Director of the Fusion Energy programme at Clean Air Task Force. Previously, she worked at the International Atomic Energy Agency as a Nuclear Fusion Physicist in charge of fusion activities for more than eight years. Before joining the IAEA, she was the responsible officer of the Fusion Materials Development Programme at EFDA (European Fusion Development Agreement) / Eurofusion in Garching bei München (Germany).
In addition, she is vice chair of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Scientific Advisory Board in the research field of Energy, a member of the UK’s Fusion Technical Advisory Group, and a member of the IFMIF-DONES España Technical Advisory Committee. She served as chair of the Project Committee of the International Fusion Energy Research Centre (IFERC) project between Europe and Japan and chaired the 9th Annual Assessment of Fusion for Energy, among other committees. She is co-editor and a contributing author of the book Fundamentals of Magnetic Fusion Technology. She is also the Chair of the Women in Fusion Group. She is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed publications in the field and a contributing author to the following books: Fundamentals of Magnetic Fusion Technology and Considerations for Commercialization Strategies for Fusion Energy.
Further keynote speakers details to be confirmed soon.