Alex Castling '16

I left Queens in 2016 and started at the University of Sheffield that September, studying MEng in Chemical Engineering with Nuclear Technology. 

At university I was involved with the Chem Eng Society and in 2019 I was on the organising committee for Frank Morton, which is an annual national sports day for chemical engineering students across the UK.

I spent a year of my degree on an industrial placement at Cummins Turbo Technologies, where I worked in research and development for the company. 

During my degree I minored in nuclear technology. I’d always been interested in nuclear power and really enjoyed the nuclear science modules we studied in physics lessons at school. While studying this at university, I decided that I wanted a career within the nuclear industry. I graduated with a First in July 2021 and in September 2021, I started a graduate scheme at Dounreay Site Restoration Limited. This is a nuclear facility on the north coast of Scotland that is currently being decommissioned.

I worked on the plant in the fuel cycle area on several different projects during my grad scheme, including decommissioning planning, compliance and safety. I also undertook a secondment with a local contractor as part of my grad scheme where I worked on a project to design utility services for an electric vehicle battery manufacturing factory.

In November 2023 I moved back to Cheshire and started working for Jacobs which is an engineering consultancy. I now work as a process engineer designing decommissioning solutions for clients in the UK and internationally. 

Maths was always my favourite subject at school and that’s what made me want to pursue a degree and a career in engineering. I still look back very fondly on my maths lessons in school with Mr Jarvis.