Interested in joining the CDT?
Explore our current EngD opportunities and find a project open for applications.
Our PhD and EngD projects are arranged by their research theme below.
If you wish to learn more about the project, or how to contact the postgraduate researcher, please email hello@fusion-engineering-cdt.ac.uk so that we can provide further details or forward your enquiry to the project team.
Ongoing projects
- A real-time PINN-based computational framework for data integration and digital twinning – Perumal Nithiarasu, Swansea (2025–2029)
- AI-driven accelerated qualification of fusion reactor materials and components – Leonardo Stella, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- AI-informed control strategies for magnetic confinement in tokamaks – Lee Margetts, Manchester (2026–2030)
- Digitally and dynamically assuring magnet operations in fusion systems – Siyuan Ji, Loughborough (2026–2030)
- Enhancing fusion engineering with augmented and virtual reality and digital twins – Lee Margetts, Manchester (2025–2029)
- Feedback control of tokamak plasmas via deep learning policies with robustness guarantees – Ross Drummond, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Model-based fusion magnet digital twins – Siyuan Ji, Loughborough (2026–2030)
- Multi-fidelity simulation ensembles for near real-time failure prediction in digital twins – Perumal Nithiarasu, Swansea (2025–2029)
- Multi-modal and multi-fidelity AI for fusion materials: data-centric design, validation and deployment – Sandy Knowles, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Numerical simulation of boiling flows for high heat flux fusion components – Mirco Magnini, Nottingham (2026–2030)
- One twin, many secrets: enabling secure multi-stakeholder digital twins for fusion systems – Lee Margetts, Manchester (2026–2030)
- Probabilistic digital twins for nuclear engineering – Lee Margetts, Manchester (2026–2030)
- Quantum algorithms for neutron transport in fusion power generation* – Peter Brearley, Manchester (2026–2030)
- Scaled experimental platform for magnetically confined fusion process emulation and digital twin integration – Lee Margetts, Manchester (2025–2029)
- Effects of hydrogen isotope exposure on the performance of fusion breeder blanket materials – Matt Lloyd, Manchester (2026–2030)
- Free-surface film flows of liquid metals under the influence of magnetic fields – Georgios Fourtakas, Manchester (2026–2030)
- High temperature radiation damage and liquid-lithium corrosion in fusion breeder blanket materials – Matt Lloyd, Manchester (2026–2030)
- Hydrogen transport and retention in materials for fusion breeder blankets – Matt Lloyd, Manchester (2026–2030)
- Large-scale tritium transport for commercial fusion: safeguards, non-proliferation and export control – Xingzhong Liang, Bristol (2026–2030)
- Lithium isotope separation: a theoretical approach for material design – Kathryn George, Manchester (2025–2029)
- Lithium-6 for the nuclear fusion industry: complementing the valorisation of battery waste and securing supply for the UK energy sector – Lizzie Driscol, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Permeation resistant, novel ceramic materials for the fusion fuel cycle – Phil Edmondson, Manchester (2025–2029)
- Solvent extraction for lithium isotope enrichment to fuel fusion power – Kathryn George / Andrew Masters (2025–2029)
- Systems modelling of the tritium fuel cycle – Lee Margetts, Manchester (2025–2029)
- Tritium transport and retention in liquid blankets; multiphysics driven impacts and coupling – Lee Margetts, Manchester (2025–2029)
- An open architecture framework for fusion – Michael Henshaw, Loughborough (2025–2029)
- Developing a diagnostic for measuring in-vessel electromagnetic loads on an operating tokamak – Nicola Bailey, King's College (2026–2030)
- High-performance flow measurement for fusion reactor auxiliary systems: optimisation of differential pressure sensors in extreme environments – Sebastiano Fichera, Liverpool (2026–2030)
- Identifying and implementing optimum information methods to promote understanding and engagement for a new fusion power plant – Emma Heywood, Sheffield (2025–2029)
- Modelling and testing of advanced neutron diagnostics for power producing tokamaks – Paul Norman, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Navigating the path to commercial fusion: assessing supply chain challenges and inclusive growth of commercial fusion energy in the Trent Supercluster – Nikola Chalashkanov, Lincoln (2026–2030)
- Novel glass-based sensor technologies for wide-range, radiation hard sensing applications in nuclear fusion applications – Paul Bingham, Sheffield Hallam (2026–2030)
- Resilience of net zero energy systems to climate-driven hazards* – Seyed Hoseyni, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Accelerated creep-fatigue qualification through high-throughput testing and data fusion – Bo Chen, Southampton (2026–2030)
- Additive manufacturing of cooling systems for cryogenic electric propulsion to power zero-emission electric aircraft – Alex Goodall, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Additive manufacturing of high-performance copper alloys for fusion energy – Biao Cai, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Advanced manufacturing and thermo-mechanical treatments of vanadium alloys for fusion – Arun Bhattacharya, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Closed-loop control for EBeam powder bed fusion manufacture of tungsten – Iain Todd, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Cryogenic cooling of hollow conductors for highly power-dense electric machines* – Alexei Winter, AMRC Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Design and additive manufacturing of heat sinks for fusion reactors – Biao Cai, Birmingham (2025–2029)
- Development of tungsten-based materials for metal recycling of end-of-life parts and machining waste – Martin Jackson, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Effect of joining/welding on newly developed reduced activation ferritic-martensitic (RAFM) steels under irradiation – Peng Gong, Manchester (2025–2029)
- Effect of metal processing defects on mechanical performance in extreme high temperature environments – Martin Jackson, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Future fusion steel development and in-process fingerprinting – Martin Jackson, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Life cycle assessment of scrap-based steelmaking: optimising resource efficiency and element recovery – Richard Thackray, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Manufacturing and high temperature mechanical evaluation of reduced activation W heavy alloys – Sandy Knowles, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Manufacturing and structural integrity validation of dissimilar material bonds for tungsten component joining – Sandy Knowles, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Materials Testing 2.0: Based assessment and modelling of fusion-grade steels for next-generation fusion energy systems – Clive Siviour, Oxford (2026–2030)
- Modifying surfaces of non-metallics to improve their longevity or functionality by atmospheric plasma processing – Kirsty McKay, Liverpool (2025–2029)
- Rapid optimisation of laser welding conditions for joining fusion materials – Russell Goodall, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Shaping precision: how cutting tool features drive micro milling performance – Hassan Ghadbeigi, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Understanding phase decomposition in SMART-W alloys in a fusion power plant environment – Tessa Davey, Bangor (2025–2029)
- Understanding the effect of dissimilar Joining/Welding on Reduced Activation Ferritic-Martensitic (RAFM) Steels, W and Cu alloys for fusion reactors – Peng Gong, Manchester (2026-2030)
- Adaptive haptic skill transfer for human-robot collaboration in nuclear teleoperation – Ayse Kucukyilmaz, Nottingham (2026–2030)
- Foundation-model-guided world models and predictive control for autonomous remote handling in extreme environments – Amir Ghalamzan, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- Identifying the bounds of safe human-robot interaction using digital twins – James Law, Sheffield (2026–2030)
- MorphoFusionAssist: developing reconfigurable rolling robot for manipulation assistance in fusion inspection and maintenance – Seyed Amir Tafrishi, Cardiff (2026–2030)
- Remote robotic welding guided by reliable, non-contact, emissivity-independent temperature imaging and machine vision – Jon Willmott, Sheffield (2025–2029)
- Telerobotic manipulation with learned perception for contact-rich tasks in nuclear environments – Yanan Li, Sussex (2026–2030)
- Assessing fusion performance limits of vanadium alloy welds for breeder blanket systems – Arun Bhattacharya, Birmingham (2025–2029)
- Ceramic plasma facing components: plasma-wall interaction effects and engineering integrity – Arun Bhattacharya, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Design and structural integrity under fusion conditions of water-cooled EU-DEMO divertor components – Arun Bhattacharya, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Engineering structural integrity and structural design criteria of dissimilar metal joints for fusion plasma facing components – Arun Bhattacharya, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- From defects to durability: scaling fatigue predictions for additive and welded structures in fusion systems – Matt Roy, Manchester (2025–2029)
- Interface engineering in spherical tokamak centre-column shield designs: mapping failure at metallic support structures and ceramic shield interfaces – Arun Bhattacharya, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Mapping the engineering of plasma- and high heat flux-induced failure modes in plasma-facing divertor components for future fusion reactors – Arun Bhattacharya, Birmingham (2026–2030)
- Multi-scale engineering constitutive models for fusion components under irradiation – Gustavo Castelluccio, Cranfield (2026–2030)
- Probabilistic lifetime assessment of breeding blankets under irradiated conditions – Christos Skamniotis, Imperial College London (2025–2029)