Suitable for 14-19-year olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom, STEM clubs and at home.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5/Grade 9-10 and Grade 11-12 Physics.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks (UK):
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Dr Austin Lo from GenAlpha Nuclear Technologies in the US. He is developing a groundbreaking new technology that will pave the way for compact and long-lasting nuclear energy systems, which could open new frontiers for many industries, including space exploration.

• This resource also contains an interview with Austin, and offers an insight into careers in nuclear engineering. If your students have questions for Austin, they can send them through the Futurum Careers website.

• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on Austin’s research and challenges them to design a presentation explaining why Austin’s new technology is well-suited for providing power to a new Mars colony.

The animation summarises Austin’s research and is accompanied by a script.

This resource was first published by Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

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