Nuclear energy and technologies are currently at the forefront of strategies for growth and investment, to support decarbonising energy supplies and ensuring energy security. The global and UK nuclear sector is undergoing an important and timely renaissance and is attracting significant commercial and government funding.

However, for this nuclear renaissance to realise its potential, important interdisciplinary science and technology challenges must be addressed. Cyber security, safeguarding nuclear materials, waste management, reactor design, and fuels are examples of research areas that are attracting attention worldwide.

Impactful contributions to these research areas requires expertise from nuclear engineering, nuclear safety, physical security, regulation and law, programme management, environment, economics, sociology, psychology, and cyber security, to mention a few. If we do not take this holistic view, major impediments to the uptake of new nuclear technologies are likely, including untenable costs or delays with regulatory approval.

In this context, Nuclear Lancaster promotes an interdisciplinary approach to draw experts from both within the Faculty of Science and Technology, the wider university, and the nuclear sector in the UK and beyond to address those key challenges in all their nuances.