Rate My Professor Ross Springell

Dr. Ross Springell serves as Associate Professor in Actinide Physics and Nuclear Materials within the School of Physics at the University of Bristol. He holds a PhD and an MSc from the University of London. His career trajectory encompasses a postdoctoral position at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility from 2006 to 2009, where he conducted research on XMCD in actinide materials and scattering from CDW states in uranium thin films, followed by a Research Associate role at University College London from 2009 to 2011 focusing on X-ray resonant scattering from strongly correlated electron materials and inelastic neutron scattering of quantum spin ladders. Since joining the University of Bristol in 2012 as a Research Associate, he has progressed to his current position. Springell's research specializations include fundamental actinide physics, nuclear materials behaviour, properties of matter, nuclear reactor physics, epitaxial growth and characterization of uranium-based thin films, radiolysis-driven dissolution and corrosion of spent nuclear fuel surfaces, structural effects under ion irradiation, phase transitions, and charge-lattice coupling in actinide oxides.

As the lead of the Materials & Devices research theme in the School of Physics, Springell oversees key initiatives such as the Facility for Radioactive Materials Surfaces (FaRMS), an EPSRC-funded project worth £9,143,788 that facilitates advanced studies on radioactive materials surfaces as part of the National Nuclear User Facility. He also contributed as Co-Investigator to the TRANSCEND consortium from 2018 to 2022. With over 80 peer-reviewed publications, his influential works encompass "Charge-lattice coupling and the dynamic structure of the U–O distribution in UO2+x" (Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering, 2024), "Absence of induced ferromagnetism in epitaxial uranium dioxide thin films" (Physical Review B, 2024), "Polyepitaxial grain matching to study the oxidation of uranium dioxide" (npj Materials Degradation, 2024), "Structure and phase transitions of metastable hexagonal uranium thin films" (Physical Review Materials, 2022), and "Water corrosion of spent nuclear fuel: Radiolysis driven dissolution at the UO2/water interface" (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2015). These studies provide critical insights into nuclear fuel performance, safety, oxidation kinetics, and long-term storage challenges in the nuclear industry.