Job title and company: Senior Mechanical Engineer, Horizon Nuclear Power Number of years in the Nuclear Industry: Eight Number of years on the NPC: One Role within NPC: Website content, Young Member Sector
Rebecca graduated from Loughborough University in 2008 with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and jumped straight in to the nuclear industry with Magnox Ltd (then Magnox North). She spent a few years working in the irradiated fuel transport department, mainly supporting the maintenance and modification of irradiated fuel transport flasks.
After a short secondment to Wylfa Site in Anglesey, Rebecca got the “bug” for working on an operating nuclear site and transferred to the Fuel Route Engineering team at Oldbury Site. While there she developed her knowledge of an operating, then defueling, plant and became System Engineer for Pond Water Chilling Plant and Contaminated HVAC. As SE Rebecca was responsible for the health of the systems, including modifications and maintenance schedule. While at Magnox Ltd she spent four years completing a part-time MSc in Nuclear Science and Technology with the University of Manchester.
In 2014 Rebecca left the defueling/decommissioning world and joined an exciting nuclear new build project at Horizon Nuclear Power. Here she has taken on the role of intelligent customer, reviewing design documentation for the UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor. She is involved in supporting the Generic Design Assessment application for the UK ABWR and frequently attends meetings with the regulator and technology provider.
Favourite engineering innovation: The bicycle. This machine is a great example of engineering simplicity which has been modified and improved to increase efficiency without losing its original basic design. Person I most admire: My dad is a huge inspiration to me and his “tinkering” in the garage when I was young inspired me to become an Engineer. Top tip for a career in the Nuclear Industry: Don’t be afraid to question “norms”.