Dr Stephanie Thornber has been announced as the winner of the European Nuclear Society High Scientific Council (HSC) PhD award 2020 during the final round of the competition, which was held virtually on the 10th November 2020. The competition was open to all PhD graduates in the field of nuclear science and engineering who have graduated within the last 36 months across all European nuclear societies and was voted for by members of the HSC.
Stephanie, who currently works as a Senior Research Technologist at the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), was first selected as the UK entrant to the competition in March after submitting her application through the Nuclear Institute. A total of 9 countries submitted entries to the competition, which were reviewed by the 22 members of the HSC. The final four candidates were unanimously selected by the HSC and were invited to present their work at the final stage of the competition. Stephanie gave a 20min presentation on her PhD research and her work at NNL in the field of plutonium disposal. Her presentation gave an overview of her PhD developing zirconolite glass-ceramics for Pu immobilization and the use of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) as the thermal treatment technology for consolidating the materials. Her presentation also highlighted the impact and relevance of her research by showcasing the ongoing development of active HIP facilities at NNL to progress the technology readiness level of HIP and of ceramic wasteforms for actinide disposition in the UK.
Following her presentation Stephanie took part in a 20 minute Q&A session with 18 members of the HSC. The council members then deliberated all finalists and their presentations before announcing Stephanie as the overall winner of the competition. Stephanie was praised for the quality and impact of her research and presentation and the quality of her answers during the Q&A session.
“I am honored to receive the award and such positive feedback from the high scientific council. I am proud of my PhD research and the work I do at NNL and it’s a wonderful feeling to receive such high praise and recognition from the respected nuclear community. I’m grateful to NNL, the NDA and The University of Sheffield who supported my application to the competition, to the Nuclear Institute for selecting my application as the UK entrant and to the high scientific council for their comments and for the opportunity to accept the award.”
Stephanie’s PhD research, supervised by Professor Neil Hyatt and Dr Martin Stennett from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Dr Ewan Maddrell from NNL, has made a significant contribution to the field of nuclear waste disposal by developing a technique for the safe containment of radioactive waste materials generated by the nuclear power industry, where long-term safe storage of this material is a major issue. She has continued this development in her position with NNL.
It is hoped Stephanie will be able to receive her award at an official ceremony as part of an international conference next year. Stephanie and the other finalists will be invited to present their work at the conference and receive diplomas from the high scientific council.