A Summer at nTtau Digital
- Megan Crocker
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
Why Internships Matter
At nTtau Digital, we believe early opportunities for students and fresh graduates are essential to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to pursue careers in fusion. As the industry builds momentum, nurturing bright and curious young minds will be key to delivering commercial fusion by 2040.
Our Mission - Accelerate. Validate. Scale.
At nTtau Digital, our goal is to develop automated, AI-assisted design workflows that allow customers to iterate through plant and component designs quickly, validate them across thousands of scenarios, and hit technical milestones without needing a large in-house simulation team. Each internship project advances that goal by expanding upon our open-source capabilities - OpenMC, MOOSE, OpenFOAM, CAD and more - while targeting the real pain-points we see most often from our customers.
The structure of the internship follows the scientific process closely; framing a research question, developing a method, generating results and presenting conclusions. Interns have the freedom to pursue their own ideas while receiving expert mentorship from our long-standing employees, shaped by customer needs so exploration stays aligned with where development is needed most and every outcome folds back into our workflows.
Our 2025 Cohort
This summer we hosted six interns from across the UK, each on a project tailored to their unique interests. The work ranged from high-fidelity neutronics (OpenMC) and CFD (OpenFOAM) to parametric CAD for geometry generation, AI surrogates and PINNs, and strengthening our automated Galaxy workflow pipeline.
“I found the summer to be really fun, but also quite challenging as it was a difficult problem I gave myself. However, it was an extremely worthwhile experience.”
– Max Moreland, University of York, who used Gaussian processes to synthesise training data and train a neural-network surrogate across the magnetic-mirror design space.
Our aim for the internship program is two-fold: provide interns with transferable skills that serve them wherever they go (fusion, wider energy, software or something entirely different) and accelerate nTtau’s mission to automate complex fusion design workflows. Autonomy plus supportive mentorship lets interns explore what excites them, discover their path, and nurture their creative thinking.
Beyond the Code
We visited some of the most cutting-edge fusion facilities in the UK, including First Light Fusion, Kyoto Fusioneering, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). We even managed to squeeze in a boat trip across the River Thames and a tour of the University of Oxford.
The internship wrapped with independent project presentations, allowing our interns to practice their scientific communication and presentation skills.
“I’ve done a number of internships, and this was by far the most enjoyable. I got along great with everyone, and I enjoyed that the work was heavily practical. Daily meetings kept me productive, and co-working meant I could socialise and enjoy the work significantly more.”
– Tushaar Davies, Lancaster University, who worked on building modular design workflows in Galaxy to improve efficiency and build-times.
We would like to say a huge thank-you to the UKAEA FOSTER Scheme for supporting many of our internships, and our mentors for their guidance and support. Finally, to our 2025 summer interns - many of whom are continuing with nTtau Digital in rolling roles - thank-you and well done. We’re extremely proud of what you built this summer, and are excited to see where your projects lead next.
