Dr Fiona Rayment, OBE FREng CChem CEng FRSC FNucl
Dr Fiona Rayment OBE has been a Fellow of the Nuclear Institute since 2014 and is an excellent example of nuclear professionalism at its very best. As an internationally recognised Subject Matter Expert, Fiona is a nuclear professional at the top of her game.
She is Executive Director of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO), a division of NNL. NIRO is charged with providing strategic nuclear advice to HM Government.
Her impressive career spans three decades in the UK and overseas. Her impact on the industry has been such that she was awarded the OBE in 2017 in recognition of her services to nuclear innovation and research.
In addition to and alongside her role with NIRO, Fiona also contributes to a quite astonishing array of organisations, holding Board positions across the industry and participating regularly in international nuclear conferences, the media and parliamentary committees and consultations.
As Chair of the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG), she is influential in driving major developments in the sector. The NSSG is a key feature of a new UK wide partnership approach on skills with membership including the government and nuclear employers. It will address skills infrastructure and the training needed to secure the supply of qualified and competent people for the industry.
Route into nuclear
A chartered Chemist by background, Fiona believes she was destined to eventually join the nuclear industry. She first expressed an interest in 1988 during her time as an undergraduate at the University of Strathclyde, where she achieved her BSc (Honours) in Chemistry and her PhD in the same subject.
“My interest in nuclear stemmed from an interest in clean energy and the work being done in nuclear medicine for cancer therapy,” she said.
“Following my PhD I knew that I wanted to join the industry and succeeded in securing a research role at BNFL. I have never looked back since.”
Her first decade at BNFL saw her achieve success in various technical and commercial roles. Fiona saw BNFL Research and Technology develop first into Nexia Solutions and then NNL in 2008. A couple of years earlier, in 2006, she had been appointed Head of Technology before taking up the role of Director of Fuel Cycle Solutions in 2011. She became Executive Director of NIRO in 2017.
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