Cerberus Nuclear is delighted to welcome Daniel Murphy to our team!
Daniel joins us after spending a year as a Health Physicist at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in Canada. Daniel will be working as a Radiation Shielding Consultant. He has a solid and diverse background in Operational Health Physics and Shielding Design, providing on-the-ground health physics support during running and outage work at Point Lepreau and also having 6 years experience doing shielding calculations for clients across the UK civil nuclear industry and internationally as a consultant.
Daniel is looking forward to playing a leading role in delivering excellent quality work and solving challenging shielding problems for Cerberus Nuclear clients. Welcome aboard Daniel!
Tour of INTA Technology Campus
Earlier this year, our Radiation Shielding Consultants John, Sam, and Zac visited INTA, the National Institute for Aerospace Technologies in Madrid while attending a FLUKA.CERN course.
They had the opportunity to tour multiple areas of the INTA campus and learn from experts working at the cutting edge of the international aerospace industry.
They visited an anechoic chamber where satellites and aircraft undergo a variety of tests. This includes but is not limited to the study of electromagnetic absorption measurements of materials, electromagnetic characterisation of materials in free space, and measurements of the effect of coatings on radiation or scatter patterns.
They were also shown round the turbojet test centre (picture at the top of the article), where engines are put through rigorous testing to ensure they are suitable for commercial use.
Finally, they explored the astrobiology department and received a lecture on the history of our solar system, as well as some exciting updates regarding ongoing projects at INTA.
Thanks to all those at INTA for providing these opportunities for our team while they were visiting for the FLUKA.CERN course.
Cerberus Nuclear have consolidated our capabilities in a broad range of high energy physics disciplines through our access to the FLUKA code. We are excited to have the opportunity to use FLUKA as a key tool in a variety of projects across the industry.
YGN Introduction to Safety Case, Criticality and Shielding Seminar
For the second year running, Cerberus Nuclear have sponsored the Nuclear Institute (NI)Young Generation Network (YGN) “Introduction to Safety Case, Criticality and Shielding” seminar. This is one of a series of “Intro to” events which aims to give YGN members and early career professionals a valuable insight into different specialisms within the nuclear industry.
The day featured an array of talks covering topics on radiation safety assessment, safety case procedure, shielding and criticality, and the Cerberus Nuclear team were involved throughout the day! Tom, a Cerberus Nuclear director, started the day with an introduction to our company history and capability. Daniel gave a lecture on what a criticality is, covering the underlying physics and the factors affecting criticality. Sarah and Zac gave an overview of interesting applications of both criticality and shielding that Cerberus has been involved in. This showcased our virtual reality criticality training tool CARTA, our recent Game Changers project for Sellafield Ltd in collaboration with Jacobs, development work in shielding for fusion reactors and previous shielding verification work.
The day concluded with a Q&A panel, with Sarah and Tom helping the panellists to provide insight and advice on careers in criticality, shielding and safety cases. There was plenty of opportunity for discussions with delegates, who all had very thoughtful and inquisitive questions and we also had some exciting networking conversations with the other speakers, so expect upcoming collaborations and future events!
Thank you to Ellie Ford and the NI YGN for organising a successful event!
Cerberus Nuclear joins University of Birmingham Nuclear Masters Steering Committee
A steering committee meeting was held yesterday (19th June), and Katrina Christaki and Daniel Rutland were delighted to take part! The meeting was attended by a number of industry leaders. The purpose of the steering committee was to discuss key issues, including the course content, opportunities for students, and the continual need from across the nuclear industry for skills taught on both courses, such as criticality and shielding.
Cerberus Nuclear has enjoyed a successful relationship with the university, taking on students for summer placements and in graduate roles in previous years. We look forward to becoming more involved with the courses as part of the steering committee.
We would like to thank Paul Norman for inviting us to be involved in the steering committee, and for organising an interesting and thought provoking day!
TSF & WPC: Cerberus Nuclear Presents at Specialist Forums
Cerberus Nuclear was honoured to participate once again in The Shielding Forum (TSF) and Working Party on Criticality (WPC) meetings at the ANSWERS Seminar in Bournemouth. Over the course of three days, professionals from across the nuclear sector gathered to exchange ideas and present work on crucial topics in radiation shielding and criticality safety.
At TSF, John Billingsley presented recent development work undertaken into the precise and accurate modelling of criticality sources for a variety of applications, highlighting Cerberus Nuclear’s commitment to continuous improvement and knowledge sharing within the industry. This work also showcased Cerberus Nuclear’s new state-of-the-art Monte Carlo transport code – Tempest, by benchmarking results against multiple nuclear codes commonly used across industry.
Additionally, Daniel Cork had the opportunity to present further developments of Cyclone, developed by Orthrus Software. He introduced an AI assistant called Cyclone Sage designed to assist users in the creation of MCNP input files – a potentially ground breaking application in the field of radiation shielding and criticality.
At the WPC meeting, there were interesting group discussions on some of the key issues and potential solutions facing UK criticality today, as well as updates on subgroup developments and future possibilities and changes in the industry. The team from Cerberus Nuclear were active participants in the meeting, with Stewart Hay presenting on the changes to criticality dose assumptions, and Toby Tyas giving an update on subgroup activities. Katrina Christaki also continued her key role as the WPC secretary. We would like to thank the new WPC Chair Liam Payne for ensuring a thought provoking and productive event.
Members of the Cerberus Nuclear criticality team also attended the Early Careers Criticality Safety Network (ECSN) speed mentoring event after the WPC meeting, as both mentors and mentees. This offered an invaluable chance for some 1-on-1 discussions about criticality safety with a range of experts in the field, as well as a chance to network and get to know members from other organisations. We would like to thank the ECSN for organising this event, as well as the members of the WPC who agreed to attend and be mentors.
Finally, we would like to thank the team at Jacobs for hosting the conference, and we look forward to contributing further in the future.
Cerberus Nuclear attend SRP Conference
Recently, Hannah, Sam and Haleema had the pleasure of attending the 2024 Society for Radiological Protection (SRP) Conference in Eastbourne. It was especially significant as this was Cerberus Nuclear’s first year attending as an SRP Affiliated Organisation.
The conference itself was a hub of knowledge, innovation and learning, with many great presentations, posters and stands. Particular presentation standouts included James Cairns from Aurora Health Physics Services with “Not my CuP of Tea? A radiological insight into the first 48 hours of the Litvinenko Murder Investigation”, and Amjad Khursheed from the ONR with “Importance of Age and Sex in Prospective Analysis of Off-Site Radiological Consequences following an Accident at a UK Nuclear Site”.
Our Shielding Lead Hannah had the important role of judging awards for posters and oral presentations, while Senior Shielding Consultant Sam, delivered a fantastic affiliated organisations presentation about Cerberus Nuclear, and Criticality Consultant Haleema, who is also a member of the SRP Magazine Editorial Team, connected with SRP members and interviewed for an upcoming SRP magazine article.
We look forward to implementing the knowledge gained and building on the connections made. A massive thank you to the SRP organisers for another fantastic SRP conference and we very much look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
Over the course of the week, they developed their knowledge of FLUKA, studying the basic concepts such as geometry and material definitions, as well as sources and scoring to provide a solid understanding of the code. They also studied advanced topics such as neutronics, radioprotection, and activation.
Cerberus Nuclear’s access to the FLUKA code has bolstered our radiation shielding and nuclear characterisation resources. It will allow us to consolidate our capability in a broad range of high energy physics disciplines such as accelerator and beam line design, as well as particle physics, aerospace, and medical applications.
Cerberus Nuclear would like to thank CERN for hosting the course and INTA for their role in the local organisation of the course. Sam, Zac, and John also had the opportunity to visit various INTA facilities during the course, which we are excited to tell you about over the next few weeks!
Cerberus Nuclear to Expand Expertise with FLUKA.CERN
Cerberus Nuclear is on a continuous path of improvement, and we are thrilled to announce our participation in the upcoming FLUKA.CERN course at the INTA, the National Institute for Aerospatial Technologies in Madrid, hosted by CERN. Participating in the course is a testament to our commitment to stay at the forefront of advancements in high-energy physics.
Delving into FLUKA: A Comprehensive Tool
FLUKA is a highly regarded high-energy physics Monte Carlo code used for the simulation of high energy particles. The history of FLUKA traces back to the 1960s at CERN, evolving through several iterations to become the robust high energy physics modelling tool it is today. The application range of FLUKA is broad, encompassing areas such as accelerator design, beam line design, particle physics, and medical applications. This versatility underscores FLUKA's use in advancing research in the field of radiation physics.
Cerberus Nuclear's Forward Step with FLUKA
Our radiation shielding team's engagement in the FLUKA.CERN course underscores our dedication to enhancing our capabilities in specialised areas. It’s about more than just acquiring new skills; it’s about enriching our team's knowledge base and fostering a culture of continuous learning.
A Vision for the Future
As we look forward to participating in the course, our team is keen on the prospect of integrating this advanced knowledge into our workflow. We believe that staying up to date with the latest advancements in our field is crucial for our growth and success. As such, we’re eager for our clients and partners to benefit from our knowledge from this course. By enhancing our technical capabilities with this educational endeavour, we are reinforcing our position as a leader in our industry, committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions.
Our Radiation Shielding Consultants Sam, Zac and John will be attending the course next week in Madrid. We invite you to keep a look out for updates to see how they get on!
The lecture began with an introduction to Cerberus Nuclear including our specialisms in radiation shielding, criticality safety, and nuclear characterisation.
Katrina took a deeper look into criticality safety, highlighting a day in the life and how criticality safety is used within the nuclear industry, as well as discussing more technical topics such as the factors affecting criticality. The students were very interested in CARTA, a criticality training tool developed by Cerberus Nuclear that utilises VR.
Zac detailed the company's radiation shielding work, talking about the shielding design process and how Monte Carlo techniques are used for shielding assessments. The shielding verification procedure as well as dynamic visualisation techniques were presented before rounding off the lecture highlighting our nuclear characterisation work and discussing our software developments through Orthrus Software.
We would like to thank Paul Norman for inviting the team to present again this year!
Cerberus Nuclear Present at NTEC Radiation Shielding Module
Our Shielding Consultants, John Billingsley and Nick Seibt, recently delivered the Shielding Design Process lecture for this year’s NTEC Radiation Shielding module.
The shielding design process is the industry best practice solution to ensure that the a robust shielding design for facilities with radioactive sources. The process is an iterative one, with new information as the design progresses feeding back into key documents to find the most effective shielding design.
The lecture was well received, with students giving positive feedback on the day. Nick completed the course last year while he was studying for his masters, so he was glad to have the opportunity to represent the company at the lecture that introduced him to us! John and Nick both stayed for the afternoon too to help support the students with some practical work.
Thanks go to Professor Andrew Boston and the NTEC course for inviting us back again this year!