Leading Light: Professor Tom Scott

Second in our series of Leading Lights is Professor Tom Scott, professor in materials at the University of Bristol and Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Advancing the Fusion Energy Cycle. His research is based around the ageing, corrosion and characterisation of radioactive materials in engineered and environmental systems. As director of the Interface Analysis Centre (IAC) at Bristol, he focuses on nuclear materials and energy storage. He was part of groundbreaking research on beamline I12 which looked at the long-term corrosion at Sellafield, leading to a simplified approach to the packaging and disposal of intermediate level waste.

His work has also included a joint study on radiation detection after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Using Diamond’s I13 and I18 beamlines, his team was able to examine individual particles to reveal details about the spread of the radioactive material and gain a forensic insight which allowed them to piece together the conditions that lead to the explosions.