Cerberus Nuclear recently had the privilege of attending the 57th Meeting of The Shielding Forum and the 103rd Working Party on Criticality (WPC) meeting during the annual ANSWERS seminar held in Bournemouth. Over the course of three days, professionals from the nuclear sector gathered to discuss key topics such as radiation shielding, reactor physics, and nuclear criticality, as well as recent developments and applications of ANSWERS software.
A few members of the Cerberus Nuclear criticality team also had the opportunity to attend the criticality day of the ANSWERS seminar. The forums were a gathering of industry experts from a range of different companies and licenced sites, all sharing an interest of growth and innovation within industry.
We would like to extend a massive thank you to the team at Jacobs for hosting the conference in sunny and beautiful Bournemouth, and the Hilton for its fantastic facilities. The team left feeling excited for the challenges ahead and a renewed sense of motivation for our in-house innovation work. Here’s to many more inspiring conferences and memorable times!
The WPC is a formal sub-group of the Safety Directors Forum, with a focus on criticality safety issues, promoting co-operation nationally and internationally. Cerberus was delighted to attend the semi-annual WPC meeting, which is an invaluable platform to learn from industry experts while gaining insights into the latest advancements. There were engaging group discussions on key issues facing UK criticality and exciting potential solutions. Some members delivered fantastic presentations speaking about new advancements and future possibilities in the criticality sphere.
It was great to see Katrina Christaki in a key role as the WPC secretary, and we look forward to Cerberus Nuclear’s continued active participation in the group and sub-groups. A big thank you to the dedicated WPC Chair Fred Winstanley for ensuring a thought provoking and productive event.
The Shielding Forum plays a major role in the event schedule, aiming to promote industry good practice and provide authoritative advice on all matters related to radiation shielding. As long-time supporters of TSF, Cerberus Nuclear were delighted to participate and benefit from the expertise shared by industry leaders. The presentations covered a wide range of topics, including the shielding design basis, fusion, and technical discussions on the latest analysis codes used in industry.
With continued support, TSF promotes the training and development of radiation shielding practitioners to ensure that the UK is, and continues to be, a centre of excellence for radiation protection. Thank you to Anton Murfin, the chair of TSF, for organising an engaging and informative meeting. We look forward to maintaining our involvement with TSF in the future.
Sellafield Ltd Supply Chain Forum Special for International Women's Day
Our criticality safety assessors Katrina and Haleema represented Cerberus at the Sellafield Supply Chain Event in March. The event was a women’s special, falling just after international women's day, and was only attended by women in the supply chain and at Sellafield Ltd.
It was so great to hear from different SMEs and all the great projects currently going on. It was especially great hearing from the next generation coming up through the Sellafield apprentice schemes. We wish them all the success in their next chapters! Another fantastic presentation was from the Jacobs women’s network, and we look forward to hearing and collaborating more in the future.
- Haleema H, Criticality Safety Consultant
At the forum, companies are given the opportunity to give a 60 s pitch. Katrina Christaki took the challenge and pitched Cerberus Nuclear to the other attendees at the forum!
Cerberus looks forward to continuing collaboration with Sellafield and to attending the next supply chain forum.
Nottingham Trent University Presentation
Cerberus Nuclear is excited to have delivered a technical and industry focused presentation to the Physics with Nuclear Technology students at NTU. Building on the student’s knowledge of radiation transport they were introduced to Monte Carlo calculations in the context of shielding assessments. The presentation was well received with thought provoking questions being raised by the students.
After the presentation the students also got to learn about Criticality safety through our CARTA VR experience. As NTU alumni Nathan and Sam got the chance to provide an insight into their career paths and introduce the students to the world of Nuclear Consultancy.
We would like to thank Dr Edward Breeds and Dr Nick Evans for welcoming us back to campus and facilitating our presentation.
Cerberus Nuclear brings industry expertise to NTEC Radiation Shielding Module
Cerberus Nuclear is proud to have once again supported the NTEC Radiation Shielding Module at the University of Liverpool, providing industry-focused knowledge input to the module.
As a key member of The Shielding Forum, Cerberus Nuclear delivered a lecture on the Shielding Design Process, providing a high-level overview of its practical application in the industry and its role in supporting facility designs.
The presentation was delivered by John Billingsley and Sam Hilton, who also provided support to the students throughout the day by assisting with their radiation shielding workshop. During the workshop, John and Sam introduced the students to the benefits of Orthrus Software's tool, Cyclone, for visualisation of Monte Carlo models and results.
The session was well attended by industry professionals and students, who actively engaged with the lecture and posed thought-provoking questions. As alumni of the NTEC course themselves, John and Sam were able to provide valuable insights into their careers in the nuclear industry since graduating.
We would like to thank Professor Andrew Boston and the University of Liverpool for inviting us back and providing us with the opportunity to contribute to the education of future nuclear professionals.
“Thank you to the University of Liverpool for the invitation to deliver a lecture at the Radiation Shielding module. As an NTEC graduate, it was great to have the opportunity to contribute to the delivery of the course, and provide insight to students on my experience in the nuclear industry since then.
A big thank you to Professor Andy Boston for organising a great module.”
– John Billingsley
“As an NTEC graduate myself, it was great to be welcomed back and engage with students providing guidance on their Monte Carlo transport coding.”
– Sam Hilton
Successful Neutronics Workshop at the University of York
Cerberus Nuclear is thrilled to have been invited to deliver a Neutronics Workshop as part of the Fusion CDT course at the University of York, marking the second consecutive year of our participation. As part of the course, students participate in a week-long fusion technology module to gain a comprehensive understanding of fusion science, covering key topics such as reactor technology, plasma physics, and neutronics modelling.
The week commenced with a workshop on the use of the open-source Monte Carlo transport code OpenMC fusion applications. The workshop was co-delivered by John Billingsley (Cerberus Nuclear) and Dr Jonathan Shimwell (First Light Fusion). Together, they presented the course and provided Master’s and PhD students with valuable insights drawn from their industry experience.
The workshop was a resounding success, offering students hands-on experience with key concepts such as transport theory, material cross-sections, model geometries, source and tally definitions, and running neutronics simulations. John and Jon’s guidance and insights proved invaluable, equipping the students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the field of fusion neutronics.
Cerberus Nuclear is proud to have played a role in the education and development of the next generation of fusion professionals. We early look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with the University of York and the FusionCDT in advancing the field of fusion technology.
“Once again, thanks to the University of York for the invitation to deliver the neutronics workshop for the third year in a row. The workshop was a resounding success, with students gaining valuable insights into the application of neutronics codes in fusion technology.
Thank you to Dr Arkaprava Bokshi for organising a great module.”
– John Billingsley
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from everyone at Cerberus Nuclear!
As well as the start of the new year, we are celebrating 6 years as a company. We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years, from our dedicated team to our valued clients and collaborators. We look forward to what 2023 will bring!
New Starter - Haleema H
We are delighted to welcome Haleema to the team full time following her summer project with the company for her Nuclear Decommissioning MSc. Haleema will be supporting both the Radiation Shielding and Criticality Safety teams, and is looking forward to applying her radioactive waste management training in the Nuclear Characterisation team. It's great to have you with us Haleema!
During her project, Haleema built a MCNP model of a reactor with multiple parameter variations. The criticality for each variation of parameterisation was collected and used for analysis and subsequent training of a machine learning algorithm to create a criticality training tool. She has since been awarded the Fremlin Award by Birmingham University for her dissertation. Congratulations Haleema!!
New Starter - Nathan Chambers
We are happy to announce that Nathan Chambers has joined Cerberus Nuclear following a successful summer placement with the company. During his MSc Placement, Nathan performed an investigation into the effect of localised radiation shield weaknesses on the dose uptake of a self-designed phantom model.
Nathan has been involved in the latest phase of the Bright 3Ts Hospital shielding verification work since starting with the company. He is also supporting a Nuclear Characterisation project, and will be developing his Radiation Shielding skills in the coming weeks alongside continuing his MSc research by producing a guidance note on his findings. Welcome to the team Nathan!
New Starter – Zachary Strangwood
We are pleased to announce that the first new starter of this year’s graduate intake has started with the company. Zachary Strangwood completed his MSc placement with the company this summer. His project consisted of modelling various radiation shielding scenarios with moving sources in MCNP and creating an interpolation engine using Python to calculate mesh tally data for different source positions in these scenarios. We are delighted that Zachary decided to stay on with the company following his Masters project!
Zachary is starting work supporting the Radiation Shielding team, but is looking forward to also supporting Criticality Safety as he progresses along the graduate scheme.
New Starter – Barrie Greenhalgh
We are delighted to welcome Dr Barrie Greenhalgh to Cerberus Nuclear! Barrie is a Radiometric and Nuclear Physicist joining us with 18 years experience in the nuclear industry. He is a MCNP radiation transport specialist, with experience in support of radiometric characterisation, calibration, feasibility and design studies. Until recently, Barrie delivered technical characterisation tasks for a range of Sellafield Ltd customers, including POCO, remediation and plant support operations.
Barrie will be key to the development of our growing Nuclear Characterisation capability, and he will also be building on his expertise by supporting Criticality Safety.
