Growing up in the coastal town area of Colwyn Bay in North Wales to an engineering family where “fix rather than replace” was very much the norm. This led Gareth to a fascination in how things worked and to question how could things be made better.  This further led to a need to know more and in greater depth.

Gareth’s academic studies began in mid Wales at Aberystwyth University where he received a masters of materials physics in 2019. From there, He was granted the opportunity to study towards a PhD within the fantastic Nuclear Futures Bangor team. Gareth’s PhD was completed in 2024 where research was funded by Jacobs (Now Amentum) combined with modules incorporated as part of the Nuclear Energy Futures Centre for Doctoral Training which is funded  by the EPSRC. 

Gareth’s particular area of study during his PhD was interested in the cladding that holds the fuel within the nuclear reactors. The reactor works by fuel heating water which can then be used to turn turbines and generate electricity. This means that the cladding is constantly within water and can corrode much like iron rusts. The material we use within many reactors is a zirconium based alloy and Gareth’s task was to understand the corrosion, oxidation, mechanics whilst in lithiated water (an alkaline metal product often added to balance the water pH). 

Gareth began his Postdoctoral research associate role in 2024 at Bangor Universities Nuclear Futures Institute for Amentum. Gareth’s research is interested in fuel performance simulations along with experimental validation.