About Us
Dr. Sarah Lu
Sarah is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Nuclear and Radiochemistry group at Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, looking at radiochemistry and microfluidic systems. She is leading the RAD Ratings project and has engaged over 6,000 students globally, adapting the educational game for international audiences. Also, she has been recognised as a Nuclear Energy Agency 2024 “Rising Star,” and named one of the UK’s Top 50 Women in Engineering in 2022. Sarah finished her PhD at the University of Southampton, UK, in 2023, having also done a bachelor’s degree in chemistry there.
Shaun Hemming
Shaun is a PhD student at the University of Southampton, UK, using a clean-up technique known as “electrokinetic remediation” to decontaminate radioactive materials at nuclear sites. He has helped with designing the RAD Ratings cards and distributing them to schools and organisations across the UK, as well as separately organising several University outreach events and school engagement visits since 2021. Before that, Shaun completed an integrated Master’s degree in geology at the University of Southampton.
Dr. Jamie Purkis
Jamie is a Senior Waste and Decommissioning Consultant with Cavendish Nuclear, focusing on nuclear waste management and power plant decommissioning. He helped designing and developing the RAD Ratings cards, as well as being a STEM Ambassador and regularly contributing towards university engagement and outreach events. Jamie was previously a Research Fellow in Nuclear Decommissioning at the University of Southampton developing methods to clean-up radioactively contaminated land. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an PhD developing uranium reprocessing methods using light, and from the University of Southampton with a Master’s in chemistry.
