Long-Term Risk Modelling for Nuclear Safety

About the Project

Are you interested in using mathematics, data, and AI tools to solve real-world safety problems? This PhD scholarship offers the chance to work on challenging research with clear societal value.

The project will develop new methods for understanding long-term risk in complex nuclear systems, where decisions must often be made using incomplete information and uncertain models.

Why this project matters

The UK faces major challenges in nuclear decommissioning, waste management, and environmental protection. This project aims to build methods that are more robust, transparent, and trustworthy, so that long-term decisions can be made with a clearer understanding of risk. As part of the project, information will be propagated through dynamic models to identify early‑warning indicators of escalating risk and detect hidden critical threats. The outcomes will enable more accurate predictions and risk assessments, crucial for long-term safety and performance in nuclear decommissioning, waste management, and material integrity assessments.

What you will work on

• Representing uncertainty when precise data are not available.
• Developing fast surrogate models for complex simulation workflows.
• Advance AI models to understand what drives risk and how factors interact over time.
• Designing computational tools for uncertainty quantification in safety-critical systems.
• Supporting decision-making in the nuclear sector.

This PhD project is a collaboration between the Centre for Intelligent Infrastructure at the University of Strathclyde, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the UK Nuclear National Laboratory.

Training and support

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Skills And Training Underpinning a Renaissance in Nuclear (SATURN) has training at the core of the programme. With specialist education from academic and sector experts, you’ll be prepared for a career as a nuclear scientist or engineer.

Who should apply

We welcome applications from motivated students with a strong degree in engineering, mathematics, physics, computer science, data science, statistics, or a related subject. You do not need to be a specialist in nuclear engineering before starting.

How to express interest

Please contact Professor Edoardo Patelli (Edoardo.patelli@strath.ac.uk) with your CV, a short statement of interest, and your degree transcript if available. Informal enquiries are welcome.

*We strongly encourage applications from students from underrepresented backgrounds in engineering and data-intensive research.*

Only shortlisted candidates will be invited for online interviews.

Funding Notes

This studentship is supported by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the Centre for Doctoral Training - Saturn and it open to both Home and International applicants that do NOT requires an Authorisation to study (ATAS). See here the list of countries that do not need ant ATAS certificate: View Website

Important: any international student would be required to obtain BPSS clearance (View Website) as a minimum prior to starting the project.

The studentship covers:

• A tuition fee
• A tax-free stipend aligned with UKRI doctoral funding levels (currently approximately £21,805 per year), increasing annually in line with UKRI guidance
• A substantial contribution for supporting conference participation, specialist training courses, and research dissemination