Jennifer completed her PhD on energy storage materials at UNSW and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), before joining the UNSW Nuclear Engineering team, first as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and now Associate Lecturer. Jennifer's current research takes place at the intersection of chemistry, materials science and engineering to develop the next generation of nuclear fuel technologies. Projects are typically highly collaborative, working with diverse, skilled and motivated colleagues across the world.

"The goal of my research is to develop and discover new materials that will extend the fuel cycle length in nuclear reactors, improving the prospects of nuclear power. 

We achieve this by tuning the chemical composition of solid-state materials to optimise their physical properties and then use in situ characterisation methods to evaluate and understand the materials' performance.

The interdisciplinary approach is key. Chemistry gives rise to a fundamental understanding of the crystal structure on the atomic scale, materials science provides the tools for determining structure-property relationships, and engineering enables the development of advanced characterisation techniques and assists in the rational design of new and improved materials."

Jennifer is also passionate about education and closing the gender-gap in STEM. Jennifer teaches  ENGG9743: Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and is the program coordinator for the Nuclear Engineering Undergraduate Minor (ENGGF2).

For enquiries about nuclear materials research, education research, or studying nuclear engineering at UNSW, contact Dr Jennifer Stansby by email (j.stansby@unsw.edu.au).