What happens when a neuroscientist, an economist, and an engineer walk into a sandpit?

How the SPARK project showed the power of diverse minds tackling energy challenges together

When you think about nuclear energy, you probably picture hard science: engineering diagrams, policy briefings, maybe a reactor control room. But when the SPARK (SMR Perceptions: Advantages and Risks Knowledge) project kicked off, it looked a little different.

Instead of a team of engineers or policymakers, it brought together a neuroscientist from the US, an economist from Kenya, and a chemical engineer from India, all working in the UK, and all trying to answer the same question:
What do people actually think about Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)? And what shapes those opinions?

Funded by a £30,000 C-DICE Sandpit award, SPARK set out to explore public perceptions of SMRs in the UK. The researchers wanted to understand not only whether people supported SMR’s, but why they support them, and how their attitudes impact the future of clean energy. To do that, the team drew on their very different areas of expertise; the result was something none of them could have achieved alone.

A team of unlikely collaborators
Dr Elizabeth Barsotti is a neuroscientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the University of Cambridge. She spends most of her time developing hardware and software for mapping brain circuitry. For SPARK, she used her knowledge of neural networks to lead the development of AI tools for analysing millions of social media posts, which resulted in an understanding of how nuclear energy is portrayed and discussed in everyday online conversation.

Dr Helen Osiolo, an economist with more than 17 years of experience in energy and sustainable development, is based at The Centre for Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience at Loughborough University. Her work links energy systems to real-world outcomes: jobs, infrastructure, inequality, and well-being. She brought this systems thinking to the SPARK project, leading survey design and modelling public perceptions using robust statistical frameworks.

Dr Swathi Mukundan is a chemical engineer based at Loughborough University whose research spans solid-state catalysis, renewable energy, and green chemistry. Beyond her technical knowledge, she played a key role in ensuring that the SPARK project was grounded in ethical research practice and shaped by relevant policy conversations.

Understanding perception, not just support
One of the core goals of the SPARK project was to understand how people in the UK think and feel about SMRs, especially in communities that may one day live near them.

But rather than simply measuring public support, the team looked deeper. Through a combination of public surveys and AI-powered sentiment analysis, they explored the underlying attitudes, concerns, and narratives that shape how people perceive nuclear energy.

What they found — and what early results suggest — is that public opinion about SMRs isn’t static or one-dimensional. It’s influenced by how people understand safety, how much they trust regulatory systems, and what they hear in the media or from their peers. These perceptions shift based on geography, identity, and experience, and they can’t be addressed by technical arguments alone.
The team is currently preparing several academic papers from this research, so specific results will be shared at a later stage. But even without diving into the data, one clear takeaway emerged: public perception is as much about trust and communication as it is about reactors and regulations.
Swathi’s engineering and policy perspective helped the team link these insights to tangible decision-making, showing how modular design, decentralised deployment, and community engagement all play a role in how new technologies are received. And with Elizabeth’s AI tools and Helen’s economic modelling, the team was able to bring together qualitative and quantitative methods in a truly interdisciplinary analysis.

A global lens on a local challenge
What also made this project unique was the lived experience each researcher brought to the table.
Helen, originally from Kenya, drew on her work across Africa to think critically about stakeholder engagement and statistical integrity. Swathi, from India, brought insight on policy decision-making to ensure ethical and robust data collection. Elizabeth, from the US, helped the team think about how people process information and make sense of complex systems.

Though the study focused on UK public perceptions, the team’s global perspectives gave the project an added richness, helping them challenge assumptions, spot blind spots, and see the broader implications of their work.

A way forward
The SPARK project has already led to multiple journal articles (in preparation), an international conference presentation, and follow-on research proposals. But for the team, one of the most meaningful outcomes has been the collaboration itself. It showed that the energy transition can’t be tackled from one angle and that some of the best insights come from bringing different voices together.

The team is deeply grateful to C-DICE and to Rolls-Royce SMR for sponsoring the project and for supporting early career researchers willing to push boundaries. That backing gave them the freedom to take risks, test new methods, and explore questions that don’t always fit into neat disciplinary boxes.

Written by Dr Elizabeth Barsotti, Dr Helen Osiolo, and Dr Swathi Mukundan.