Florent Heidet, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development
Dr. Heidet is a world-renowned expert on advanced nuclear reactor technologies, leveraging two decades of nuclear engineering and project management expertise. Dr. Heidet was previously the Head of Engineering at Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC), where he led a multidisciplinary team of over 100 experts working around the globe to advance the development of the KRONOS MMRTM Energy System and LOKI MMRTM technologies prior to their acquisition by NANO Nuclear earlier this year.
Prior to his leadership role with USNC, Dr. Heidet spent 12 years at Argonne National Laboratory, where he played a central role in most of the laboratory’s reactor design projects. He led the design of the Versatile Test Reactor, a $2 billion program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, served as the Argonne manager for the Transformational Challenge Reactor program, coordinated the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion efforts in support of NASA, and provided expertise and leadership to numerous federal, commercial, and international projects.
Dr. Heidet has a proven track-record of assembling highly effective teams and consistently delivering impactful outcomes. His organizational skills are widely acknowledged through several institutional awards. Dr. Heidet holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the ENSAM (Paris, France), and business program certificates from both Berkeley Haas School of Business and Chicago Booth School of Business. He has published numerous peer-reviewed technical papers and authored several chapters of the Encyclopedia of Nuclear Energy.
James Walker, BEng, MSc, CEng, PEng
CEO & Board Member
Mr. Walker is a Nuclear Physicist and was the project lead and manager for constructing the new Rolls-Royce Nuclear Chemical Plant; he was the UK Subject Matter Expert for the UK Nuclear Material Recovery Capabilities and was the technical project manager for constructing the UK reactor core manufacturing facilities. Mr. Walker was also seconded to Rolls Royce where he modeled configurations of RR’s Zero-Power reactor to inform confidence limits for the UK’s successor submarine’s mechanical design and worked for the Rolls-Royce Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics Engineering team investigating reactor channel thermal performance to inform new reactor designs and support the safety case for reactors in current class submarines. Mr. Walker’s professional engineering experience includes nuclear reactors, mines, submarines, chemical plants, factories, mine processing facilities, infrastructure, automotive machinery, and testing rigs.
Mr. Walker has extensive experience in engineering and project management, particularly within nuclear engineering, mining engineering, mechanical engineering, construction, manufacturing, engineering design, infrastructure, and safety management. He has executive experience in several public companies, as well as acquiring and re-developing the only fluorspar mine in the United States.
Mr. Walker holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, and Nuclear Engineering, as well as qualifications in Project Management and Accountancy. He is a Chartered Engineer with the IMechE, a Project Manager Professional with the APM, and a Professional Engineer with the Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
Professor Massimiliano Fratoni
Senior Director and Head of Reactor Design
Massimiliano Fratoni is Xenel Distinguished Professor and Chair in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). He received a Laurea in Nuclear Engineering from Università di Roma “La Sapienza” (Italy), and a MSc and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining the Nuclear Engineering Department at UCB, he held a Research Scientist position at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a faculty position at The Pennsylvania State University.
Prof. Fratoni’s main research interests are in sustainable nuclear energy through advanced reactors and advanced fuel cycles. His research is focused on developing innovative engineering solutions that will facilitate the widespread deployment and adoption of advanced nuclear energy technologies. Prof. Fratoni is author of more than 200 publications in the areas of advanced reactors and advanced fuel cycles. He received the American Nuclear Society Early Career Reactor Physicist Award (2018) and the Untermyer & Cisler Reactor Technology Medal (2024).
Professor Peter Hosemann
Head of Nuclear Reactor Design and Materials
Professor and Former Department Chair of Nuclear Engineering Department in UC Berkeley. Prof. Hosemann’s career started at the Montanuniversitaet Leoben in Austria where he received his Ph.D. and MS degree in Material Science. He joined Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2005 as a graduate research assistant and continued as a Post doc from 2008-2010 before joining UC Berkeley’s nuclear engineering department.
Prof. Hosemann had numerous research stays at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and Los Alamos National Laboratory. His research features experimental material science for extreme environments, especially nuclear environments. His focus is on structural materials used for nuclear components (fission, fusion, spallation, etc.) while developing a basic understanding of the materials degradation processes and resulting consequences to engineering application.
Professor Ian Farnan
Lead of Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Radiation and Materials
Chair of Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre, Professor of Earth & Nuclear Materials part of Department of Earth Sciences. Dr. Farnan is an expert in the effect of nuclear radiation on materials and has developed nuclear magnetic resonance methods to provide an element specific probe of radiation damage and actinide substitution in a range of materials from nuclear fuels and claddings to waste forms. His current research involves the investigation of the alteration mechanisms of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste glasses as a function of radiation damage and aqueous processes. He has extensive experience of high temperature materials and is currently involved in supporting the development of molten salt technology through fundamental research on in situ measurements on dissolution and speciation in molten salts. He has led national (UK EPSRC) and international (Euratom) research consortia including the RCUK/NDA spent fuel research group and more recently within the EPSRC advanced materials for fission program, the consortium Carbides for Future Fission Environments. He is a Discipline Lead for Nuclear Waste Services-RSO in Materials Science.
Professor Eugene Shwageraus
Lead of Nuclear Reactor Engineering
Professor of Nuclear Energy Systems Engineering at the University of Cambridge Engineering Department, Dr. Shwageraus was the Head of Nuclear Engineering Department at Ben-Gurion University, Israel and Visiting Associate Professor at the Nuclear Science and Engineering Department at MIT. Dr Shwageraus’s research is focused on physics and engineering of nuclear power reactors as well as modelling of nuclear systems to assist policy decision making. His research is focused on modeling techniques and design of advanced nuclear energy systems intended to address future global energy needs in environmentally conscious and resource-sustainable way.
A part of Dr. Shwageraus research is dedicated to studying Thorium based fuel in combination with advanced cladding material such as SiC which may be capable of achieving ultra-high burnup (long fuel cycles at high power densities) while at the same time providing higher safety margin. Dr. Shwageraus has led multiple government and industry-sponsored research projects on developing advanced reactor designs. He is a co-PI on a £7M UK EPSRC sponsored program grant MATHRAD which will apply the latest mathematical methods to radiation transport modelling in nuclear industry, space and medicine.
Carlos O. Maidana, Ph.D., MBA
Head of Thermal Hydraulics and Space Program
Dr. Carlos O. Maidana is a distinguished physicist and research engineer with over 22 years of international experience in the fields of engineering, applied sciences, and nuclear systems. As the founder of MAIDANA RESEARCH, Dr. Maidana has led a diverse range of cross-disciplinary projects, covering the entire design and development cycle from concept studies to optimization using advanced theoretical, computational, and experimental techniques. Dr. Maidana has held prominent positions in some of the most prestigious research institutions globally. He served as a Senior Research Fellow and Scientific Secretary at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, where he contributed significantly to advancements in high energy particle accelerators. Additionally, he was a Research Associate at the Idaho National Laboratory, where he focused on space nuclear systems and technologies, working on joint DoE/NASA projects. Dr. Maidana has been awarded several DoE SBIR grants for his pioneering work in advanced nuclear technologies. Dr. Maidana is recognized as the leading authority worldwide in engineering magneto-hydrodynamics, particularly in the area of annular linear induction pumps (ALIPs) and thermo-hydraulics of liquid metals and molten salts. His expertise in these fields has been instrumental in advancing the technology and its applications.
Dr. Maidana holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Science (Physics) from Idaho State University, an M.Sc. in Physics from Michigan State University, and a B.Sc. in Physics and Applied Physics from Universidad Tecnológica Nacional in Argentina. He has also completed post-doctoral training in Applied Engineering for Space Nuclear Systems at Washington State University. Additionally, he holds various certificates in research commercialization and project management. At Nano Nuclear Energy, Dr. Maidana is task to help grow the company’s consulting services and the DoE SBIR Phase 3 Project Director, where he plays a crucial role in the development and commercialization of advanced technologies. His work is pivotal in optimizing and simplifying the design of Nano Nuclear’s ‘ODIN’ microreactor, a clean energy, advanced portable micro nuclear reactor in development.
Andrew Steer, Ph.D.
Head of Regulatory Engagement
Dr. Andrew Steer is a nuclear safety case and regulatory engagement expert with over 18 years of experience in the nuclear industry. Until recently, Dr. Steer served as Head of Licensing and Regulation at MoltexFLEX, a British nuclear energy company developing advanced small modular molten salt reactors. Dr. Steer led the strategy, scope and development of the safety, environmental, and security cases for the FLEX reactor, working with regulators and supporting safety informed design development as part of the senior leadership team.
Dr. Steer is experienced in leading teams in regulatory engagement, ensuring regulatory expectations are met and that reactor design integrity is maintained. His deep understanding of nuclear safety cases and regulatory practices will be especially valuable as NANO Nuclear moves forward with reactor licensing and engages with both U.S. and international regulators.
Previously, while working with General Nuclear System Limited, Dr. Steer was a safety case lead for the HPR1000 generic design assessment (GDA) in the U.K., which achieved a design acceptance confirmation in 2022. He has provided safety case support to a range of clients across the U.K. nuclear sector, specializing in internal and external hazard analysis and safety case strategy development. He is based in the U.K. and now works with NANO Nuclear’s U.K.-based nuclear science and engineering partner Cambridge AtomWorks, led by Professors Ian Farnan and Eugene Shwageraus. Dr. Steer received his doctorate in nuclear physics from the University of York.
Nathaniel Read, Ph.D.
Chief Safety Case Engineer
Dr. Read’s present work is concerned with detecting the early signs of nuclear power station decline, whether technical or organizational, that could lead to an accident. Following the Chernobyl accident, it was recognized that a single incident can have global consequences, leading to the establishment of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). This organization conducts periodic reviews of the global nuclear power station fleet and collects data on operational incidents, including those that are relatively minor. Dr Read’s current postdoctoral work seeks to apply modern machine learning techniques to this dataset to attempt to detect early signs of station decline that could lead to an accident. This vein of thinking emerged after the Three Mile Island incident, after which it became clear that focusing on seemingly small operational details can greatly reduce the probability of large accidents as well improving plant reliability and economics. His research continues in the same philosophy but with the modern advantages of large datasets and the tools to understand them.
Paul Cosgrove, Ph.D., BEng
Head of Computational Methods
After obtaining a BEng in chemical engineering at Queen’s University, Belfast, Dr. Cosgrove completed his MPhil and PhD in nuclear engineering at the University of Cambridge. He now teaches computational methods in nuclear engineering and supervises research projects on the topic. His research interests include stochastic and deterministic methods in radiation transport, multi-physics simulation, numerical analysis, and advanced reactor design.
Valeria Raffuzzi, Ph.D., MSc
Head of Criticality and Shielding
Dr. Raffuzzi obtained her Bachelor degree in Energy Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, her Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering at EPFL/ETH, and her PhD at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on developing novel methods to improve Monte Carlo neutron transport simulations. Valeria is experienced in computational methods for fission and fusion nuclear reactors, criticality and shielding calculations.
Anuj Dubey, Ph.D.
Thermal Hydraulics Engineer
Dr. Dubey is a post-doctoral researcher working with the nuclear engineering group at the University of Cambridge. He obtained his M.S. and PhD degrees in nuclear engineering at the Homi Bhabha National Institute. He coordinated the activities of the ongoing European Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR-SIMPLE) project. Dr. Dubey’s doctoral research involved the development of severe accident analysis tools for sodium-cooled fast reactors. His current research work is aimed at developing computational tools for core neutronics and thermal hydraulics analyses of advanced (non-water) nuclear reactors.
Congjin Ding, Ph.D.
Reactor Design Engineer
Congjin obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering at Grenoble-INP and North China Electric Power University, her Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering at Tsinghua University and KTH, and her PhD at CEA Cadarache and Université Grenoble Alpes. Her research focuses on fast reactor design including neutronic analysis, thermal hydraulic modelling, CFD simulation, and methods development. Congjin is experienced in numerical modelling, with particular expertise in the problem of fission product transportation and fuel behaviour applied to cladding failure detection systems in sodium cooled fast reactors..
Rui Guo, Ph.D.
Materials Science Engineer
Dr Rui Guo obtained his first degree in Materials Science from the University of Birmingham before being admitted to the University of Cambridge, where he completed his MPhil in Nuclear Energy and PhD in Nuclear Materials. He Specialized in nuclear wastes and fuel cycles and has extensive experience in novel experimental characterization and simulation methods for studying nuclear materials. He took up a Shumei fellowship position at Tsinghua University after returning to China, working on broader environmental projects including cement CO2 absorption and CO2 emission from various energy systems. His current research focuses on developing reliable and robust coolant and fuel cycle systems that could meet the technical requirements of novel reactor designs.
Professor Andy Woods
Consultant Computational and Experimental Flow
Andy spent two years as a research fellow at St John’s College and as a Green Scholar at the University of San Diego before taking up a lectureship for 5 years at the Institute of Theoretical
Geophysics, Cambridge. After three years as professor of applied mathematics at the University of Bristol he was appointed BP Professor and head of the BP Institute (now the Institute for
Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF), University of Cambridge. His work is characterised by the development of simplified mathematical and experimental models of complex fluid flow
and heat transfer processes covering a wide range of phenomena from the dynamics of explosive volcanic eruptions to geothermal power generation, carbon sequestration and
enhanced oil recovery in heterogeneous porous rocks. Andrew W. Woods was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2017.
Alejandra de Lara, Ph.D.
Fuel Engineer
Alejandra recently completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge sponsored by Framatome. Her research involved adapting fuel codes for molten salt reactors, comparing their significant advantages to currently operating LWRs. Her work confirmed that high temperature operation allows for high thermodynamic efficiency of power conversion using advanced power cycles, as well as the possibility of using nuclear heat directly to drive industrial processes such as the production of synthetic fuels, hydrogen or district heating.
James Leybourn
Senior Nuclear Engineer
James is a Chartered Physicist with over 12 years’ experience of Physics and Engineering within the UK nuclear industry. James has a proven track record of leading diverse projects, including thermal hydraulics, engineering design and safety case production. Recently, he played a key role in the MoltexFLEX engineering delivery by leading development of a risk-informed work programme and introducing Systems Engineering practices. James is a Fuel Route expert, having spent much of his career supporting the Fuel Route of the UK Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR) fleet and then leading the MoltexFLEX reactor Fuel Route development. He also led significant projects supporting the AGR defuelling programmes and has provided support to the Rolls-Royce SMR project.
Simon Boddington
Senior Nuclear Engineer
Simon is a reactor physicist with over 10 years of industry experience covering PWR and thermal and fast spectrum molten salt reactor designs. Much of his experience is concentrated on reactor physics and he has assembled (from scratch), managed and technically led the Physics Team that designed and delivered the molten salt FLEX and SSR-W reactor concepts, focused on maintaining the economic design objectives. He has extensive experience in applying analytical and stochastic reactor physics methods to develop core designs, including validation and verification. Before joining Moltex, he graduated with an MPhys from the University of Southampton in 2014, then completed the nucleargraduates scheme before working in the Core Physics Group at Rolls-Royce.
Leopoldo Garcia
Mechatronics Engineer
Leopoldo Garcia is a Mechatronics Engineer specializing in instrumentation, automation, and robotics, with expertise in electromagnetic systems and nuclear technologies. He is leading the manufacturing and system integration efforts for the next-generation of Annular Linear Induction Pumps (ALIP) developed by Dr. Carlos O. Maidana, supporting its transition from prototyping to commercialization. As part of this effort, he is also responsible for furthering the development of the Magnetic Field Mapping System (MFMS) and plays a key role in the robotics, controls, and instrumentation required for ALIP applications. Additionally, he contributes to research and development on space nuclear systems, including Loki MMR, space applications for ALIP, and future space-related projects under Dr. Maidana’s guidance and supervision.
Before joining Nano Nuclear Energy, Leopoldo worked at Amazon Robotics as an R&D Hardware Development Engineer, where he designed and tested safety sensor systems and contributed to the development of the Cardinal Robotic Workcell. His work involved robotic industry safety standards, leading multidisciplinary teams, and managing supplier coordination and stakeholder requirements under strict time constraints.
Leopoldo holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with Honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology, with a Minor in Robotics and Automation. His expertise in precision automation, embedded systems, and advanced manufacturing makes him a key contributor to the development of next-generation nuclear and space technologies at Nano Nuclear Energy.