Matt Oliver meets ‘rising star’ Prof Ian Chapman following his appointment as chief executive at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy

Depending on your point of view, it is either an exciting or nerve-wracking time for a sizeable number of scientists in Oxfordshire.

Research at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy continues to lead the world in its field, with new work set to start on potentially game-changing smaller reactors.

They are also set to get a new chief executive, Professor Ian Chapman, promisingly described as a “rising star” by the government on his appointment.

At 34 he will be one of the youngest heads of a major research centre in the country and will need to keep a steady hand on the tiller as the country approaches Brexit.

This is because until recently, the centre’s funding would have been guaranteed by the European Union as part of an international effort.

But that is set to change and, for the 1,100 people employed at the Culham centre, it could mean uncertainty.

Prof Chapman is an optimist, however, and says there is plenty to look forward to. He points particularly to tests set to start on MAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) at the centre.

He told the Oxford Mail: “We will be doing some really important experiments.

“I really do believe MAST is the most exciting device in the world right now, because it could mean a step-change in the way we design fusion reactors.

“They could become much smaller and much cheaper to build. And that is what science is all about. We saw a problem and thought ‘there must be a cleverer way to deal with this’.

“So I’m hugely excited about that machine.”

He is complimentary about Professor Steve Cowley, who he will replace from October, and promises to “make the most of the green shoots” that have started to grow as the centre branches out.

In recent years the Culham campus has seen new facilities built for spin-out technology developed for fusion that could have wider applications. The Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) Centre is one example, focusing on advanced robotics.

“The feel of the lab is completely different to when Steve took over,” Prof Chapman says. “It is now forward-looking, ambitious and growing.”

But part of his job come October will be to keep banging the drum for Culham to ensure it continues to receive enough funding, as well as talented scientists from overseas.

For now, the government has agreed to underwrite all of the commitments made by the EU so the centre is under no immediate threat. But there are still lingering fears about this, as well as guarantees about the status of EU nationals.

“I think my appointment is a strong message that the UK government is looking to the future and at realising fusion,” he adds. “That is not going to happen in five years, but within decades we want to be putting power on the grid.

“We need the best scientists we can get, including the next generation coming through.”

The father-of-two, who lives in Abingdon, has worked at the Culham centre since 2004. His meteoric rise saw him join as a graduate before becoming head of tokamak science in 2014 and fusion programme manager in 2015.

Prof Cowley calls him “a strategic thinker of the first order”. But what drives him?

“I have always wanted to make fusion a reality, if not for my generation, then for my children’s generation,” said Prof Chapman.

“I also want to change the world and, in many ways, fusion is the ultimate energy source.

“The problem is it is really hard – otherwise we would have done it by now.

“But if you look at where the world is going, and how big countries are growing, we need to ask where our energy will come from and fusion has always had huge potential.

“There are challenges to overcome and they must be overcome – that is why I agreed to take on the job.”