Senior Fellows

Background

Robin Taylor is a radiochemist with 25 years experience leading nuclear research and development projects related to actinide chemistry; particularly in the fields of separations, recycling, characterization and storage.

Key Areas of Expertise

• Advanced processes for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing
• Actinide separations chemistry
• Actinide oxide storage and re-treatment

Key Achievements

• Bill Newton Award, Radiochemistry Group, Royal Society of Chemistry (2009)
• Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2004)
• Company Awards (2005: Innovation, 2012: Individual)
• NNL Chief Scientist Award (2017)
• Editor of “Reprocessing and Recycling of Spent Nuclear Fuel”, Elsevier Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy no.79 (WPE79), ISBN 978-1-78242-212-9 (2015)
• Associate Editor for European Physical Journal – Nuclear Science and Technology

Key Publications

1. G. P. Horne et al., Plutonium and Americium Alpha Radiolysis of Nitric Acid Solutions, J. Phys. Chem B, 121, 883-889 (2017).
2. R. Taylor, Reaction: a role for actinide chemists, Chem 1, 662-663 (2016).
3. M. Carrott, et al., “TRU-SANEX”: a variation on the EURO-GANEX and i-SANEX processes for heterogeneous recycling of actinides Np-Cm, Sep. Sci. Technol. 51, 2198-2213 (2016).
4. H. Chen, et al., Development and validation of a flowsheet simulation model for neptunium extraction in an advanced PUREX process, Solv. Extr. Ion Exch. 34, 297-321 (2016).
5. Z. Maher, et al., Am and Pu Association with Magnesium Hydroxide Colloids in Alkaline Nuclear Industry Process Environments, J. Nucl. Mater. 468, 84-96 (2016).
6. R. Taylor, et al., Development of actinide separation processes for future nuclear fuel cycles in Europe, Nuclear Futures, 11, 38-43 (2015).
7. R. M. Orr, et al., A review of plutonium oxalate decomposition reactions and effects of decomposition temperature on the surface area of the plutonium dioxide product, J. Nucl. Mater. 733-756 (2015).
8. M. Carrott, et al., Distribution of plutonium, americium and interfering fission products between nitric acid and a mixed organic phase of TODGA and DMDOHEMA in kerosene, and implications for the design of the “EURO-GANEX” process, Hydrometallurgy 152, 139-148, (2015).
9. M. Carrott, et al., Development of a new flowsheet for co-separating the transuranic actinides: the “EURO-GANEX” process, Solv. Extr. Ion Exch. 32(5), 447-467 (2014).
10. H. E. Sims, et al., Hydrogen yields from water on the surface of plutonium dioxide, J. Nucl. Mater. 437, 359-364 (2013).
11. R. J. Taylor, et al., Progress towards the full recovery of neptunium in an Advanced PUREX process, Solv. Extr. Ion Exch., 31, 442-462 (2013).
12. M. J. Sarsfield, et al., Raman spectroscopy of plutonium dioxide and related materials, Journal of Nuclear Materials 427, 333-342 (2012).
13. J. Brown, et al., Plutonium loading of prospective grouped actinide extraction (GANEX) solvent systems based on diglycolamide extractants, Solv. Extr. Ion Exch., 30, 127-141 (2012).
14. C. R. Gregson, et al., Characterisation of plutonium species in alkaline liquors sampled from a UK legacy nuclear fuel storage pond, Analytical Methods 3, 1957-1968 (2011).
15. C. R. Gregson, et al., Combined electron microscopy and vibrational spectroscopy study of corroded Magnox sludge from a legacy spent nuclear fuel storage pond, Journal of Nuclear Materials 412, 145–156 (2011).
16. M. J. Carrott, et al., Oxidation-reduction reactions of simple hydroxamic acids and plutonium (IV) ions in nitric acid, Radiochim. Acta, 96, 333-344 (2008).
17. C. Talbot-Eeckelaars, et al., Luminescence from Neptunyl (VI) species in solution, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129, 2442-2443 (2007).
18. H. Steele and R. J. Taylor, A Theoretical Study of the Disproportionation Reaction of the Pentavalent Actinyl Ions, Inorg. Chem., 46, 6311-6318 (2007).
19. R. J.  Taylor, et al., The applications of formo- and aceto- hydroxamic acids in nuclear fuel reprocessing, J. Alloys & Compounds, 271-273, 534-537 (1998).
20. 19.  R. J. Taylor and I. May, Advances in actinide and Tc kinetics for applications in process flowsheet modelling, Sep. Sci. Tech., 36, 1225-1240 (2001).

Background

Colin English has over 40 years experience working in R&D within the nuclear industry for UKAEA, AEA Technology and NNL. He has worked in the field of microstructural characterisation, radiation effects in solids and in-service degradation of structural components. This has included active involvement in Research and Development (R&D), strategic development and management of R&D programmes, consultancy, expert review and line management activities. Colin is also Visiting Professor at the Department of Materials Oxford University.

Key Areas of Expertise

Throughout his career Colin has developed considerable experience of irradiation effects in structural materials during service in a reactor environment. This includes involvement in the issues associated with the use of materials in components in thermal, fast and the proposed fusion reactors. Specialities are mechanisms of creating radiation damage in metals, reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement, irradiation effects in zirconium alloys, and the mechanisms of stress corrosion cracking in austenitic steels.

Colin is internationally recognised as an expert in reactor pressure vessel embrittlement and was the first chairman of the International Group for radiation damage mechanisms in reactor pressure vessels (IGRDM). He was also Scientific Advisor to the European Ames Network. He has co-authored over 120 publications and given numerous invited papers in his specialised field.

More recently he has been involved in a number of initiatives to sustain and develop technical expertise within NNL, including the Technical Excellence Development Programme (TEPD) and co-chairing the newly formed NNL Technical Committee.

Key Achievements

Colin has been heavily involved in a number of customer-funded projects aimed at delivering insight into specific material degradation mechanisms. The following gives examples of the scope of the work.

• He was project Manager for a UK Government programme on microstructural metrology of metals and alloys, and project co-ordinator European 5FP PISA (11 partners) (Phosphorus Influence on Steel Ageing). This project involved the acquisition of correlated data on P segregation and embrittlement, comparisons between different experimental techniques and advances in segregation modelling.
• He has played a central role in a number of experimental programmes aimed at establishing insight into the mechanisms of irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel steels.
• A recent major contribution has been his involvement in the development of the “Ageing Community” project. In this project NNL and a number of other UK partners interested in nuclear plant operation are developing a knowledge capture /expertise development base on the embrittlement of RPV Steels. This area is of key interest to the UK nuclear industry, and one in which expertise was in danger of being lost as key individuals retire.
• He has acted as external Peer Reviewer to UK and overseas organisations on issues associated with development of dose damage relationships for RPVs.

Key Positions held 

1988 – 1991:  Chairman International Group on the mechanisms of pressure vessel steel embrittlement (IGRDM).

1986 to 1990  AEA Technology representative on NET Expert's Group on Structural Materials (NET is Next European Torus).

1985 to 1990  Authority Principal Co-ordinating Officer Underlying Radiation Effects Programme.

1985 to 1998  Group Leader, Radiation Effects Group, Materials Development Division, Harwell Laboratory (and its successor Groups/Departments).

2004 to Present Senior Fellow Materials NNL

Key Publications

Displacement Cascade Collapse At Low Temperatures In Cu₃Au, T.J. Black, M.L. Jenkins, C.A. English and M.A. Kirk, Proc. Roy.Soc., A409, 177, (1986).

Investigation Of Gundremmingen RPV Archive Material Irradiated In Light-Water And Heavy-Water Reactors. C.A. English, W.J. Phythian, J.T. Buswell, J.R. Hawthorne, P.H.N. Ray in Effects of Radiation on Materials: 15^th International Symposium, ASTM STP 1125, Eds. R.E. Stoller, A.S.Kumar and D.S.Gelles, pub. ASTM, Philadelphia, 1992, pp 93-116.

Views Of TAGSI On The Principles Underlying The Assessment Of The Mechanical Properties Of Irradiated Ferritic Steel Reactor Pressure Vessels, J.F.Knott, and C.A.English, Intl. J. Pressure Vessels and Piping, 76 (1999), 891-908.

Embrittlement Of Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels, C.A. English and J.M Hyde, in Comprehensive Structural Integrity, Volume 6, Eds I. Milne, R.O. Ritchie and B. Karihaloo, pub. Elsevier, ISBN 0-08-043749-4 (2003) pp. 351-398.

Critical Review Of Through-Wall Attenuation Of Mechanical Properties In RPV Steels, C.A. English,W. L. Server, and S. T. Rosinski, Journal of ASTM International, April 2004, Vol. 1, No. 4.

Views Of TAGSI On The Effects Of Gamma Irradiation On The Mechanical Properties Of Irradiated Ferritic Steel Reactor Pressure Vessels, J.F.Knott, C.A.English, D.R.Weaver and D.P.G Lidbury Intl J Pressure Vessels and Piping 82, (12), 929-940 (2005).

Studies Regarding Corrosion Mechanisms in Zirconium Alloys. Preuss M., Frankel P., Lozano-Perez S., Hudson D., Polatidis E., Ni N., Wei J., English C., Storer S., Chong K., Fitzpatrick M., Wang P., Smith J., Grovenor C., Smith G., Sykes J., Cottis B., Lyon S., Hallstadius L., Comstock B., Ambard A., Blat-Yrieix M.  October 2011 -- JAI Volume 8, Issue 910.1520/JAI103246.

Study of Lüders phenomena in reactor pressure vessel steels. D.W. Beardsmore, J. Quinta da Fonseca, J. Romero, C.A. English^{, ,} , S.R. Ortner, J. Sharples, A.H. Sherry, M.A. Wilkes. Materials Science and Engineering: A Volume 588, 20 December 2013, Pages 151–166.

Microstructural Characterisation Techniques for Mechanistic Understanding of Irradiation Damage”, in “Irradiation Embrittlement of Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) in Nuclear Power Plants“, J.M. Hyde and C.A. English, “Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy: Number 26, 2014 (pp. 211-294) ISBN978-1-84569-967-3.

“Study Of Zircaloy Corrosion To Develop Mechanistic Understanding”, S. Ortner, H. Swan, A. Laferrere, C. English, J. Hyde, P. Styman, K. Jurkschat, H. Hulme, A. Pantelli, M. Gass, V. Allen, P. Frankel, Proceedings of Fontevraud 8, Oct 2014

Background

Jonathan Hyde joined the nuclear industry in 1995 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford and working as a visiting research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has since worked for UKAEA, AEA Technology and the National Nuclear Laboratory, taking on a number of roles including R&D and management. He is currently both Chief Technology Officer for the Reactor and Operations Support business and a Senior Fellow in Nuclear Materials.  In addition, he collaborates with academia and contributes to the work of several technical working groups and advisory boards. He has co-authored ~90 publications and is a Charted Engineer and Fellow of the IOMMM.

Key Areas of Expertise

Jonathan is an expert on characterising the microstructure of materials and developing mechanistic understanding of radiation damage.

Key Achievements

Jonathan’s achievements include:

• Developing many of the statistical techniques now routinely used worldwide to analyse data from Atom Probe Tomography
• Promoting the use of a combination of microstructural techniques to underpin mechanistic understanding of the degradation of materials which led to several international research programmes
• Introducing an annual award within NNL – the Lawrence Medal - for the Best External Scientific/Technical (BEST) Publication
• NNL “Inspiring Leader”, 2017

Key Positions held 

NNL

• 2010 – 2014: Business Manager
• 2012 – Chief Technologist and Laboratory Fellow
• 2015 – Senior Fellow

External

• 1997 – present: Technical Area Co-ordinator (microstructure & metallurgical variables) of the International Group on Radiation Damage Mechanisms (IGRDM)
• 2007 – present: Wolfson Industrial Fellow & then Senior Visiting Fellow, University of Oxford
• 2010 – present: Nuclear Science representative on the Diamond Industrial Science Committee (DISCo) which provides advice to the UK Diamond synchrotron facility
• 2012 – present: Visiting Professor at the Dalton Nuclear Institute at the University of Manchester
• 2014 – present: Industrial Advisory board for the Fusion CDT
• 2015 – present: Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool, School of Engineering

Key Publications

1. E.A. Marquis and J.M. Hyde, "Atomic Scale Analysis of Solute Behaviours by Atom-Probe Tomography", Materials Science and Engineering R:Reports, volume 69, issues 4-5, July 2010, pp. 37-62
2. J.M. Hyde, M.G. Burke, B. Gault, D.W. Saxey, P. Styman, K.B. Wilford, T.J. Williams, Atom probe tomography of reactor pressure vessel steels: An analysis of data integrity, Ultramicroscopy 111, 676-682, 2011.
3. C.A. English and J.M. Hyde, 'Radiation Damage of Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels", Comprehensive Nuclear Material, Elsevier, Ed. R. Konings, 2012, ISBN: 9780080560274.
4. J.M. Hyde and C.A. Engish, “Microstructural Characterisation Techniques for Mechanistic Understanding of Irradiation Damage”, in “Irradiation Embrittlement of Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) in Nuclear Power Plants“, Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy: Number 26, 2014 (pp. 211-294) ISBN978-1-84569-967-3
5. J.M. Hyde, M.G. Burke, G.D.W. Smith, P. Styman, H. Swan, K. Wilford, “Uncertainties and assumptions associated with APT and SANS characterisation of irradiation damage in RPV Steels”, Journal of Nuclear Materials 449 (2014) 308–314
6. P. D. Styman, J. M. Hyde, D. Parfitt, K. Wilford, M.G. Burke, C.A. English and P. Efsing, “Post-Irradiation Annealing of Ni-Mn-Si-Enriched Clusters in a Neutron-Irradiated RPV Steel Using Atom Probe Tomography”, J. Nuc. Materials, Volume 459, April 2015, Pages 127–134
7. R.M. Boothby, J.M. Hyde, H. Swan, D. Parfitt, K. Wilford and P. Lindner, “SANS Examination of Irradiated RPV Steel Welds during In-situ Annealing”, Journal of Nuclear Materials 461, 45-50, 2015
8. J.M. Hyde, P. Styman, H. Weekes et al., "Analysis of Radiation Damage in Light Water Reactors: Development of Standard Protocols for the Analysis of Atom Probe Data". Microscopy and Microanalysis. 2017 Apr;23(2):366-375. doi: 10.1017/S1431927616012678.
9. J.M. Hyde and K. Wilford, “Correlating Irradiation-Induced Solute Clustering with Changes of Hardness in Low and High Flux Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels”, Microscopy and Microanalysis. 23. (2017) 632-633. 10.1017/S1431927617003828.

Deborah Hill was appointed as a Fellow in the Spring of 2013 and subsequently a Senior Fellow in the Summer of 2017, covering the area of Criticality Safety. She is currently the Criticality Technical Leader within the FCS Safety, Security and Safeguards team, based at the Preston Laboratory.

Background

Following the completion of a PhD in x-ray physics at the University of Warwick, Deborah joined British Nuclear Fuels plc (one of the precursor companies to NNL) in 1997 as a graduate trainee in the criticality team. She has since amassed over 18 years of experience providing technical criticality input to a multitude of projects for numerous national and international customers. She is currently a Principal Criticality Safety Consultant and the Criticality Technical Leader within the Safety, Security and Safeguards team; she is responsible for the technical leadership of a large team of criticality specialists, including defining the technical training and assurance requirements plus shaping the technical direction of the team. She was appointed as a Laboratory Fellow for Criticality Safety in early 2013.

Key Areas of Expertise

Throughout her career, Deborah has developed considerable experience in both conducting and managing a wide range of operational criticality support to a variety of national and international customers, including shaping site policy and liaising with the nuclear regulators. Using this experience, she has become heavily involved in the development of safety case methodologies and industry standards / guidance. She is now recognised as a national and international expert in the field of criticality safety, having held a number of governance positions on key UK and US criticality committees.

As part of her Laboratory Fellow role, she has been heavily involved in driving the skills agenda with NNL; she has been responsible for the technical community input to the Graduate Development Programme, and is currently the Chair of the NNL Mentoring Community of Practice.

Key Achievements

Deborah’s achievements include:

• Played a key role in significantly increasing both the numbers and capability of the NNL criticality team in the late 2000s
• Chair of the UK Working Party on Criticality
• Has held a number of positions on the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Nuclear Criticality Safety Division (NCSD). Currently the NCSD Program Chair, and is the sole candidate for the Division Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect position in 2016/17
• Awarded the inaugural NNL Impact Award for Service in Spring 2012

Key Positions Held

2006–2013: NNL Criticality Technical Team Manager and then NNL Criticality Business Manager

2013–present: NNL Criticality Technical Manager and then NNL Criticality Technical Leader

2013–2017: NNL Fellow for Criticality Safety

2017–present: NNL Senior Fellow for Criticality Safety

2006–2015: Chair of the UK Working Party on Criticality

2009–present : Various roles on the ANS NCSD, including Executive Committee (2009 – 2012), Secretary (2012/13), Treasurer (2013/14), Program Chair (2015–2017), Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect (2016/17), Chair (2017/18) and Co-Chair of the ANS.8-20 Working Group (2015–present).

Selected Key Publications

1. D.A. Hill, Proc. International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety, “The Role of Integrated Criticality Training and Support to the Refurbishment of the Enriched Uranium Residues Recovery Plant at Westinghouse, Springfields Fuels Limited”, p200 (2007).
2. D.A. Hill, Proc. Nuclear Criticality Safety Division Topical Meeting on Realism, Robustness and the Nuclear Renaissance, “Criticality and Fire-Fighting – Recent Developments at Westinghouse, SFL” (2009).
3. J. Venner, S.B. Clark and D.A. Hill, Proc. International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety, “Optimising Storage Arrangements for Low Enriched Uranic Residues Subject to Limited Slab Loading Control” (2011).
4. D.A. Hill, Proc. International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety, “Recent Activities of the UK Working Party on Criticality” (2015).
5. D.A. Hill & T.G. Wadeson, Proc. International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety, “The Application of ALARP to Legacy Residues Recovery Processes on the Springfields Site in the United Kingdom” (2015).