معرفی
Professor Simon Middleburgh is a Professor in Nuclear Materials at Bangor University's School of Computer Science & Engineering and serves as Co-Director of the Nuclear Futures Institute. He holds the distinguished Ser Cymru Professor title and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) and Member of the Institute of Physics (MInstP). His research spans nuclear materials development, materials behavior in extreme environments, and the integration of materials modeling with experimental methods.
Professor Middleburgh completed his Ph.D. at Imperial College London in 2012, followed by positions at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB before joining Bangor University's Nuclear Futures Institute in March 2018.
His research interests include nuclear fuel development, materials for space applications, fusion materials, nuclear forensics, and corrosion of materials in nuclear environments. He has pioneered work on uranium dioxide, lithium hydride/deuteride systems, high entropy alloys, and advanced ceramics for nuclear applications. His fingerprint includes expertise in Uranium Dioxide (100%), Density (92%), Uranium (68%), Lithium (60%), Zirconia (53%), U3Si2 (52%), Burnable Absorber (47%), and High Entropy Alloys (45%).
His publications show a strong focus on nuclear materials characterization, with recent work examining lithium-based materials for fusion, uranium dioxide for nuclear forensics, and advanced ceramic composites. The trend indicates growing emphasis on fusion materials, nuclear forensics techniques, and computational modeling of materials behavior under extreme conditions.
- Entropy Best Paper Award (2023)
Professor Middleburgh supervises numerous PhD and Masters students on projects sponsored by major nuclear industry partners including Westinghouse Electric, Jacobs, Tokamak Energy, UKAEA, and NNL. He leads significant research projects such as the Bangor University Fuel Fabrication Facility (BUFFF), a National Nuclear User Facility, and the Enhanced Methodologies for Advanced Nuclear System Safety (eMEANSS) project as part of the UK-India Civil Nuclear Programme. His research has generated over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and 14 patents.
He directs the MERLIN (Materials for Energy Research Laboratory: Innovating for Nuclear) facility at Bangor University, which combines manufacturing capabilities with materials characterization equipment including electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction hardware. He is also a member of the Materials Advisory Panel at Tokamak Energy and participates in international collaborations including MUZIC-3 and CARAT.
