Kieran Rivers

Dr. Kieran Rivers joined MaDCoR as a post-doctoral researcher in December 2025 after completing his PhD at the University of Oxford on irradiated tungsten for fusion applications. During his PhD, he specialized in atom probe tomography (APT) and nanoindentation, alongside correlating these with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), to understand the effect of irradiation-induced transmutant solute clustering on the properties of tungsten. Kieran is an expert in sample preparation with focused ion beam (FIB) instruments, with over 4 years of experience with gallium and plasma FIBs.
Kieran’s current work as a post-doctoral researcher focuses on understanding the role of nano-scale metal inclusions (NMIs) on the corrosion behavior of zirconium alloys for fission applications. His research involves using four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM), combined with correlative APT-TEM, to look into the effect of localized electric fields around NMIs in existing oxides on the diffusion pathways of charged oxidizing species. Alongside this, Kieran works with MaDCoR’s ion beam laboratory to analyze irradiated materials for both fusion and fission applications.