The SINDRI Technical Advisory Board (TAB) will provide guidance on the scientific direction of the project. We are pleased to announce that John Stairmand and Fionn Dunne will be co-chairs of the TAB.

John Stairmand is Jacobs Technical Director for Technology and Consulting; he also holds Visiting Professorships at University of Manchester and Bangor University and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. He has significant experience of leadership of R&D on corrosion, structural integrity and materials science.

Fionn Dunne is Chair in Micromechanics at Imperial College London; he is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Fionn will be independent of the Imperial College research team working on SINDRI. His research is in the fundamentals of deformation and failure particularly relating to hcp polycrystal and nickel alloys and includes experiment, characterisation, computational crystal plasticity and discrete dislocation plasticity. He has authored approximately 200 research papers.

John said: “SINDRI is bringing together the UK’s foremost experts in materials, manufacturing and data science for the nuclear sector. By pioneering innovations that will make the nuclear power stations of the future safer and cheaper to build, operate and decommission, we aim to help this country and the world to take a huge step towards a net-zero carbon economy.”

Fionn added: “Through state-of-the-art integrated experiment, characterisation, and microstructurally-informed modelling within an overarching digital framework, SINDRI aims to deliver affordable and safe nuclear power.  Leading groups at Bristol, Imperial and Manchester Universities and key partners including UKAEA, NNL, Jacobs and EDF, together with the Henry Royce Institute, will deliver for the UK.”

Other academic and industrial experts will be contributing to the TAB – which will meet at least once per year, with the first meeting scheduled for September 2021.