Profile
James Roberts
My CV
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Education:
My primary school was Hatch Ride, in a village called Crowthorne.
My secondary school and sixth form was Reading School, in Reading (surprise).
After school, I went to the University of Cambridge for my degree. -
Qualifications:
At GCSE I took Maths, English Lang and Lit, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, German, History, Geography, Religious Studies and Art. I got an A* in Art, which I am most proud of.
At A Level I took Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry
At university I graduated with an MEng (Masters of Engineering) in Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering (study of fluids and heat)
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Work History:
Whilst at university, I did three summer internships, all at Rolls-Royce Aerospace in Bristol. There I helped do design and analysis work for jet engines.
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Current Job:
My current job is at UKAEA (UK Atomic Energy Authority), and I started here straight out of university. I have been here six months now.
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About Me:
I am a Graduate Mechanical Engineer, I grew up in Reading, and work not far away in South Oxfordshire
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I live outside of Oxford, with another graduate who I went to university with. We live 5 mins away from the best Mexican restaurant in the south east, which is no coincidence. I enjoy running, so I run to work some days, and I also host two different D&D games with friends from work and uni. Pronouns are he/him
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The work here is more varied than anywhere else I’ve seen. There are mechanical engineers (like me), electrical engineers, plasma physicists, materials scientists, roboticists – all sorts. This means that the work here can be really varied, and I currently work on three different projects.
- Using metal 3D printing to make better heat sinks. I got some test parts made, and oversaw them being test in a high-temperature lab on our site. This is an international collaborative project, so I also sent some of the same parts to the Ukraine, to be blasted with plasma and see if they survive.
- Thermal analysis of coolant in reactors. This involves a lot of me at my PC, either running simulations, or writing pieces of code to help them run more easily
- Upgrading the MAST cooling system. MAST is one of the two fusion reactors we have on site, and I am in charge of upgrading part of the cooling system. MAST creates plasma, which undergoes a fusion reaction – the same reaction that occurs in the sun. My work will let MAST create plasma for longer, which is crucial for getting better data to inform the design of our future power plants.
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My Typical Day:
I commute out to our fusion lab – it is an old Navy air base, so it is out in the countryside. I usually boot up my PC to do some analysis work, but some days I am down working on the machines, installing new systems for our experimental fusion reactors.
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Early in the day I am often replying to emails – engineering science requires a lot of collaboration, so I have to talk to experts all over site. I am often looking for their experience on something, or asking people to do small bits of work for our project.
Some days I will go down to D1 – this is the hangar where MAST, our reactor that I work on, lives. The reactor is the large grey thing in this picture. I’ll be doing a variety of things, like inspecting pipework, or working out how new systems are going to fit in.
Then in the afternoon I might be doing analysis work, using my computer to verify designs before we physically build them. Some of the analysis I do is an experiment in itself – it’s a lot cheaper to run a lot of simulations on a computer, than to build a load of different experiment rigs.
Some days I give tours to students too, who come to visit the site with their schools.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would use the money to design and 3D print a model of the engineering components in a fusion reactor, which can then be used at outreach tours we host and events we travel out to.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Learning, Excited, Busy
What did you want to be after you left school?
Some kind of designer
Were you ever in trouble at school?
A few times, it's part of learning
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Grimes
What's your favourite food?
Anyting mexican - today it's tostadas
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I'd wish I had more time in work, more free time outside of work, and more time to sleep
Tell us a joke.
How do you find where Will Smith went in the snow? You follow the Fresh Prints
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