Dr. Tim Gregory works full-time as a nuclear chemist in the heart of the British nuclear industry. He spends his work days in the lab measuring the chemical and isotopic composition of nuclear materials on a variety of different projects. His love for science shines through in his day job, public speaking, and media activities.
Tim’s background is in academia. After completing a Ph.D. at the University of Bristol researching the formation of the Solar System using meteorites, Tim became a postdoctoral researcher at the British Geological Survey in Nottingham. His background on the cutting edge of academic research prepared him perfectly for his sideways career step into the nuclear industry.
In 2020, Tim’s debut book – Meteorite: How Stones from Outer Space Made Our World — was published by John Murray to critical acclaim.
In 2017, Tim surpassed thousands of applicants for a place in the six-part BBC2 series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? where he was put through the full rigors of astronaut selection and reached the final three.
Since then, he has gone on to present a segment about meteorites on BBC4’s The Sky at Night and has made live television appearances on BBC Breakfast, BBC Look North, and BBC Points West. He frequently features on local and national radio to talk about events in the world of space, science, and nuclear.
Tim loves nothing more than sharing his love of science and the wonders of the natural world. He regularly speaks to audiences of all sizes and ages on topics such as nuclear science, planetary science, and the importance of science in society. His enthusiasm is infectious and his deep knowledge shines through.
Originally from West Yorkshire (and with the accent to prove it), Tim completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Manchester where he achieved a first-class with honors in Geology with Planetary Science (MEarthSci). He discovered his love for cosmochemistry during a ten-week internship at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he investigated the history of water-rich asteroids.
When he is not in the lab, Tim is either outside enjoying the Cumbrian mountains, or inside reading or playing his guitar.
Suggested Talks:
Nuclear Power – the Key to Net Zero
The British Government’s net zero policy will affect all of our daily lives. From how we power our homes to how we fuel our economy, the plan to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with zero-carbon energy is an unprecedented challenge. But there is a solution – nuclear. Nuclear power is the only form of mass-energy generation that can replace fossil fuels, and, unlike other renewable sources, it works day or night, rain or shine.
Understanding the Opportunity in Nuclear Waste
Nuclear energy is bound inside the heart of atoms. It has the potential to power our civilization while avoiding climate change, but nuclear waste — hazardous for hundreds of millennia — is often touted as a reason not to pursue a nuclear-powered future. Emerging technologies, however, cast nuclear waste in a new light, transforming it from our deadliest foe to one of our greatest assets, with the ability to power new reactors, cure cancers, and take us into deep space.
Blue Sky Science – Lessons for Innovation
So-called ‘blue sky science — that is, science that is curiosity-driven with no explicit or immediate real-world application — is part of the lifeblood of the scientific enterprise and technological innovation. Unconstrained by specificity, it often takes us to uncharted territories, and from it come many unexpected and miraculous discoveries. Indeed, many of the things we take for granted in our everyday lives saw their inception in esoteric and abstract questions of academic research – and there are many lessons here for innovation in business too.
Cosmochemistry – Lessons from the Bigger Picture
The charred remains of stones that fall from the sky have captured the human imagination for millennia and using the tools of modern science we have read from them the most ancient tales in the Solar System: the coming together of our planetary system, the formation of worlds, and clues to our origins. Meteorites are custodians of deep time and interstellar chemistry. These rocks from outer space can offer lessons about ourselves and our organization by taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.
