Sannah H P van Balen

MPhil alumni
Department of Engineering
University of Cambridge

Since graduation

Sannah van Balen is now undertaking a PhD via the The Nuclear Energy Futures CDT and is based at Cambridge. The Nuclear Energy Futures CDT will graduate up to 80 PhDs that will provide innovation and leadership for the future of the UK nuclear industry.

Research interests

Her main interests are in the effects of radiation and its effects to our health. Radiation is impossible to sense; it doesn’t have a smell, a taste, a sound, a texture, or a characterising appearance. Nevertheless, high-level radiation can damage our bodies and result in serious health effects (e.g. Acute Radiation Sickness). In cases of low-level radiation exposure, the health risks are more difficult to pin down. These primarily actualise as an increased probability of developing cancer (known as stochastic effects). Combining the uncertainty in health effects with the intangibility of radiation makes risks particularly difficult to assess and prone to (mis)perceptions that can impact risk management strategies.

Achievements

Winner Cambridge-McKinsey Risk Prize, Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies, essay title: Rethinking low-level radiation risks: the Linear Non-Threshold (LNT) Model for radiation and its scientific validity.

NEA Rising Star Programme, Nuclear Energy Agency and MIT, winner of poster presentation.

Future plans

I believe my PhD research topic touches upon very fundamental questions about society and how we address the multitude of risks, both natural and technological. I hope that the outcomes of my research will lead to further research projects that aim to develop governance structures for risks whose consequences are uncertain or ambiguous, and could benefit from a societal perspective.