Science and Technology of Fusion Energy

You will have access to a range of fusion energy facilities across the UK, including the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the MAST and JET tokamaks at Culham in Oxfordshire, advanced materials research facilities, the Orion laser and high performance computing facilities. International links provide access to many other fusion devices around the world.

• the characterisation of materials, where there is emphasis on electron microscopy and related techniques
• processing and manufacturing of materials
• modelling of materials, where there is attention to both structures and processes
• properties of materials
• energy materials, including those for batteries, nuclear fusion and photovoltaics
• quantum information processing, which includes groups working on experimental studies, theory and modelling.

The combination of world-leading experts and world-class facilities creates an outstanding training environment for the next generation of fusion scientists - the generation who may exploit ITER, NIF and other international experiments to make fusion energy a reality.

As a student on the Oxford DPhil in Science and Technology of Fusion Energy (EPSRC CDT) programme you will be part of one of the top-ranked materials departments in the world. The vibrant research school consists of around 28 academic staff, 15 Senior Research Fellows, and around 195 research students and 75 post-doctoral researchers. The department's research students are of many nationalities and come from diverse backgrounds, both graduates in the traditional subjects of materials science, physics, chemistry and engineering and also in mathematics, earth sciences and biology.

The programme is normally carried out in four years of full-time study under the supervision of an experienced member of staff. It is examined at the end of the programme by means of a written thesis and an oral examination. A wide range of exciting DPhil projects is available. The first eighteen months is a probationary period during which you undertake various taught courses specific to the Fusion CDT cohort, after which, subject to satisfactory progress, students normally transfer to full DPhil status. A second formal assessment of progress takes place later in the programme, normally six months into the third year. Details of the DPhil programme, including training opportunities (academic courses, research-specific skills and generic transferable skills) and progression requirements, can be found in the Graduate Course Handbook.