£5m grant and new chief for Dalton Nuclear Institute

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8:03 am, September 15, 2008
£5m grant and new chief for Dalton Nuclear Institute

British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) is to give a £5m grant towards nuclear education and research at the University of Manchester.

The university’s Dalton Nuclear Institute will use the money to train to the next generation of nuclear industry professionals with the aim of helping Britain to avoid a predicted shortage of specialists.

Under the terms of the endowment, a series of professorial appointments will be made lasting up to five years in a variety of research areas.

The money will also be used to cover associated costs such as support staff, fellowships, studentships, equipment, conferences and travel.

At the end of the funding period for each Chair, it is expected the position will be financially sustainable via self-generated research income.

The endowment fund from Risley-based BNFL will be known as the BNFL Endowment for Nuclear Research. The first professorial appointment is expected to be a BNFL Chair in Radiation Effects on Materials. Michael Parker, group chief executive of BNFL, said: "The £5million legacy that BNFL is providing will assist in ensuring that nuclear research in the North West continues to be rightly at the heart of the global nuclear renaissance." Professor Alan Gilbert, President and Vice Chancellor, The University of Manchester, said: "This most generous endowment from BNFL will enhance the University's position in the nuclear field in the UK and bring significant wider benefits to the North West region as a whole. "It consolidates our world leading position in nuclear research, which spans over 100 years from the work of Rutherford to the present day, and puts Manchester in an ideal position to support the global nuclear renaissance." The university recently said it planned to establish a Centre for Nuclear Energy Technology (C-NET) with support from the Northwest Science Council and industry partners.

As part of the plan, Westinghouse Electric Company is funding a Chair in Nuclear Fuel Technology in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE).

The University is also establishing a multi-million pound nuclear research facility in Cumbria in conjunction with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The announcement of the BNFL endowment coincides with the appointment of Professor John Perkins as the new Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute.

Prof Perkins will take on the role in addition to his existing duties as Vice President and Dean of The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) at The University.

The appointment of Professor Perkins comes following the departure of Professor Richard Clegg, who has taken up a new role as Chief Scientist at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston. Dr Paul Howarth, who was previously Director of Research at the Institute, has now been appointed Executive Director. Professor Francis Livens, Professor of Radiochemistry, who holds a joint appointment in The School of Chemistry and the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, has been appointed the Institute's Academic Director Prof Clegg will maintain an involvement with the Institute's work on civil nuclear research and development through a visiting professorial appointment in The School of Chemistry.

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