Plasma turbulence underpins a wide range of phenomena, including the formation of stars and galaxies; the properties of the solar wind, and - the focus of this programme - the confinement of plasmas in tokamaks. It is complicated by feedback mechanisms that couple space and time scales spanning several orders of magnitude. The full problem is extremely challenging, and so to make progress for real world applications we must develop reduced models that capture the essential physics. The goal of our proposed programme is to address this by advancing our understanding of these multi-scale interactions at a fundamental science level. This will be achieved by coupling analytic theory, advanced computation and experimental capabilities, including the newly upgraded MAST-U tokamak. Plasma turbulence is complicated by the fact that there are at least two types of interacting "fluids" - electrons and ions - and these are charged. Fluctuations in density therefore drive charge separation and hence fluctuations in the electrostatic field, while fluctuations in velocity drive currents and hence fluctuations in the magnetic field. These fields then couple the relative motions of the electron and ion "fluids". The situation is further complicated by the rich variety of waves that a magnetised plasma supports, and the resonances that exist when the phase velocity of a wave matches the particle velocity. To properly treat these resonances requires knowledge of the particle velocity distribution; this, in turn, requires either a kinetic or an advanced fluid approach - a daunting task. Turbulence, typically at the millimetre-centimetre scale in tokamaks, interacts in a complex way with the global equilibrium profiles (density, temperature and flow gradients, for example), which are on the metre-scale. To quantify the complex, multi-scale feedback mechanisms between tokamak plasma turbulence and profiles, and so provide a predictive capability for the quasi-steady final states, we will address and integrate a number of topics. We will first learn how mean flows interact with electrostatic turbulence (ie neglecting fluctuations in the magnetic field), requiring coupling between fluctuations with characteristic scales ranging from the electron Larmor radius (sub-mm) through to the ion Larmor radius (few mm) and beyond (cm), to the system length scale of the profiles (m). Our new theory and simulations will inform experiments on MAST-U, exploiting two diagnostic instruments already planned for the device (beam emission spectroscopy and doppler back-scattering). It is likely there will be gaps in the wavelength range that these instruments can measure, so we anticipate a need to develop and install a new microwave imaging system. This will be designed using knowledge gained from the early phase of the programme, and deployed for further experiments towards the end. Understanding of electromagnetic turbulence is less developed and new theoretical models will be required. Building on the knowledge gained from the electrostatic turbulence, we will seek to again understand the multi-scale interactions and feedbacks, including flows. However, now the situation is more complicated as electromagnetic turbulence can drive large scale currents, modifying the magnetic field which confines the plasma, and coupling into large scale electromagnetic modes. A key motivation is to optimise tokamak plasmas for fusion performance, and this requires us to understand the impact of fast particles. These can drive turbulence directly through the instabilities they excite, or influence the turbulence driven by the thermal particles. Our simulations will assess the impact of the fast particles created by the neutral beam heating systems on MAST-U, and also the impact of energetic alpha particles from fusion reactions on future devices like ITER, as well as experiments planned on JET with the deuterium-tritium mix fusion fuel.

Robots with legs and arms are likely replace most manual labour, especially in environments that are dangerous for humans, and revolutionize multiple services domains in the long-term. One of the main advantages of legged robots is that they can discretely make and break contact with the environment, in contrast to wheeled or tracked systems that require continuous contact with the ground. This way, robots with legs can modify their area of support from step to step, a requirement when negotiating challenging terrain and environments primarily built for humans. Also, the use of legs decouples the body from the robot's foot-print. This allows for wide areas of support with only small footprints, a major advantage when navigating passages, tight spaces, cluttered environments, etc. The high articulation of legged systems also allows them to manipulate their center of mass, so that the system's dynamics can be exploited for the task at hand, and to dynamically reconfigure their workspace for the benefit of their payload, i.e., increase a manipulator arm's reach or position a sensor suite in a preferred pose. The autonomous locomotion framework that we will develop will enable current technology to be used in industrial scenarios, especially in hazardous environments that are primarily built for humans. Examples of such places are nuclear power plants, factories, oil & gas facilities, etc., where typically industrial stairs are used and a system will need to overcome various terrain difficulties, such as step over pipes, gaps, climb up/down stairs, manoeuvre through narrow passageways. Legged systems in such settings can have a large variety of roles; starting from inspection, automated monitoring of the condition of a facility; maintenance, periodic recurring tasks that need to be performed typically by a human, to intervention when an anomaly is detected.

FARSCOPE-TU (Towards Ubiquity) will train a new generation of "T-shaped roboticists" in the priority area of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS). T-shaping means graduates will combine the depth of individual PhD research experience with broad awareness of the priority area, including technical tools and topics spanning multiple disciplines. Breadth will be enhanced by strong understanding of the industrial and societal context in which future RAS will operate. These graduates will meet the need for future innovators in RAS, evidenced by industrial partner demand and growing research investment, to deliver potential UK global leadership in the RAS area. That need spans many applications and technologies, so FARSCOPE-TU adopts a broad and ambitious vision of RAS ubiquity, motivating the research challenge to make RAS that are significantly more interactive with their environments. The FARSCOPE-TU training experience has been carefully designed to support T-shaping by bringing in students from many disciplines and upskilling them through an integrated programme of individual research and cohort activities, which mix together throughout the four years of study. The FARSCOPE-TU research challenge necessitates multidisciplinary thinking, as the enabling technologies of computer science and engineering interface with questions of psychology, biology, policy, ethics, law and more. Students from this diverse range of backgrounds will be recruited, with reskilling supported through fundamental training and peer learning at the outset. The first year will be organized as a formal programme of study, equivalent to a Masters degree. The remaining three years will focus on PhD research, punctuated by mandatory cohort-based training to refresh first year content and all subject to annual progress monitoring. Topics will include responsible innovation, enterprise, public engagement, and industrial context. FARSCOPE-TU has formed partnerships with 19 organizations who share its vision, have helped co-create the training programme, and span technologies and applications that align with the CDT's broad interpretation of RAS. Partner engagement will be central to covering industrial context training. Partners and the FARSCOPE-TU team have also co-created a flexible programme of engagement mechanisms, designed to support a diverse set of partner sizes and interests, to allow collaborations to evolve, and to be responsive to potential new partners. The programme includes mentoring, mutual training by and for partners, collaboration on research and industry projects, sponsorship and leveraged funding opportunities. Partners have committed £2.5M in leverage to support FARSCOPE-TU including 15 studentships from the hosts and 12 sponsored places from industry. FARSCOPE-TU will promote equality, diversity and inclusion both internally and, since the vision includes robots interacting with society, in its research. For example, FARSCOPE-TU could consider how training data bias would affect equality of interaction between humans and home assistance robots. FARSCOPE-TU will instigate a high-profile Single Equality Scheme named "Inclusive Robotics" that combines operational initiatives, including explicit targets, with events and training, linked to responsible innovation and human interaction. FARSCOPE-TU will deliver a joint PhD award, badged by partners University of Bristol and University of the West of England. The CDT will be run through their established Bristol Robotics Lab partnership, providing over 4,500sqm dedicated RAS laboratory space and a community of over 50 supervisors. BRL's existing FARSCOPE CDT provides the security of a strong track record, with 46 students recruited in four cohorts so far and an approved joint programme. FARSCOPE-TU builds on that experience with a revised first year to support diverse intake and early partner engagement, enhanced contextual training, the new T-shape concept and the wider ubiquity vision.

Fusion is the process that powers the Sun, and if it can be reproduced here on Earth it would solve one of the biggest challenges facing humanity - plentiful, safe, sustainable power to the grid. For fusion to occur requires the deuterium and tritium (DT) mix of fuels to be heated to ten times the temperature at the centre of the Sun, and confined for sufficient time at sufficient density. The fuel is then in the plasma state - a form of ionised gas. Our CDT explores two approaches to creating the fusion conditions in the plasma: (1) magnetic confinement fusion which holds the fuel by magnetic fields at relatively low density for relatively long times in a chamber called a tokamak, and (2) inertial confinement fusion which holds the fuel for a very short time related to the plasma inertia but at huge densities which are achieved by powerful lasers focused onto a solid DT pellet. A main driver for our CDT is the people that are required as we approach the final stages towards the commercialisation of fusion energy. This requires high calibre researchers to be internationally competitive and win time on the new generation of fusion facilities such as the 15Bn Euro ITER international tokamak under construction in the South of France, and the range of new high power laser facilities across Europe and beyond (e.g. NIF in the US). ITER, for example, will produce ten times more fusion power than that used to heat the plasma to fusion conditions, to answer the final physics questions and most technology questions to enable the design of the first demonstration reactors. Fusion integrates many research areas. Our CDT trains across plasma physics and materials strands, giving students depth of knowledge in their chosen strand, but also breadth across both to instil an understanding of how the two are closely coupled in a fusion device. Training in advanced instrumentation and microscopy is required to understand how materials and plasmas behave (and interact) in the extreme fusion conditions. Advanced computing cuts across materials science and plasma physics, so high performance computing is embedded in our taught programme and several PhD research projects. Fusion requires advances in technology as well as scientific research. We focus on areas that link to our core interests of materials and plasmas, such as the negative ion sources required for the large neutral beam heating systems or the design of the divertor components to handle high heat loads. Our students have access to world-class facilities that enhance the local infrastructure of the partner universities. The Central Laser Facility and Orion laser at AWE, for example, provide an important UK capability, while LMJ, XFEL and the ELI suite of laser facilities offer opportunities for high impact research to establish track records. In materials, we have access to the National Ion Beam Centre, including Dalton Cumbria Facility; the Materials Research Facility at Culham for studying radioactive samples; the emerging capability of the Royce institute, and the Jules Horowitz reactor for neutron irradiation experiments in the near future. The JET and MAST-U tokamaks at Culham are key for plasma physics and materials science. MAST-U is returning to experiments following a £55M upgrade, while JET is preparing for record- breaking fusion experiments with DT. Overseas, we have an MoU with the Korean national fusion institute (NFRI) to collaborate on materials research and on their superconducting tokamak, KSTAR. The latter provides important experience for our students as both the JT-60SA tokamak (under construction in Japan as an EU-Japan collaboration) and ITER will have superconducting magnets, and plays to the strengths of our superconducting materials capability at Durham and Oxford. These opportunities together provide an excellent training environment and create a high impact arena with strong international visibility for our students.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Nuclear Energy Futures aims to train a new generation of international leaders, at PhD level, in nuclear energy technology. It is made up of Imperial College London (lead), Bristol University, Cambridge University, Open University and Bangor University. These institutions are some of the UK's leading institutions for research and teaching in nuclear power. The CDTs key focus is around nuclear fission i.e. that is the method of producing energy by splitting the atom, which currently accounts for 11% of the world's electricity and 20% of the UK's electricity, whilst producing very low levels of carbon emissions (at levels the same as renewable energy, such as wind). The CDT whilst focused on fission energy technologies will also have PhD projects related to fusion nuclear energy and projects needed or related to nuclear energy such as seismic studies, robotics, data analytics, environmental studies, policy and law. The CDT's major focus is related to the New Nuclear Build activities at Hinkley Point, Somerset and the Anglesey site in north Wales, where EDF Energy and Horizon, respectively, are building new fission power plants that will produce around 3.2 and 2.7 GWe of nuclear power (about 13% of the UK current electricity demand). The CDT will provide the skills needed for research related to these plants and potential future industry leaders, for nuclear decommissioning of current plants (due to come off-line in the next decade) and to lead the UK in new and innovative technologies for nuclear waste disposal and new reactor technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs). The need for new talented PhD level people is very high as many of the UK's current technical experts were recruited in the 1970s and 80s and many are near retirement and skills sector studies have shown many more are needed for the new build projects. The CDT will champion teaching innovation and will produce a series of bespoke courses that can be delivered via on-line media by the very best experts in the field from across the CDT covering areas such as the nuclear fuel cycle; waste and decommissioning; small modular reactors; policy, economics and regulation; thermal hydraulics and reactor physics as well as leading on responsible research and innovation in the sector. The CDT is supported by a wide range of nuclear companies and stakeholders. These include those involved in the new build process in the UK such as EDF Energy, Hitachi-GE, Horizon and Rolls-Royce, the latter of which are developing a UK advanced modular reactor design. International nuclear stakeholders from countries such as the USA, UAE, Australia and France will support the student development and the CDT programme. The students in the CDT will cover a very broad training in all aspects of nuclear power and importantly for this sector will engage in both media training activities and public outreach to make nuclear power more open to the public, government and scientists and engineers outside of the discipline.