University of Huddersfield academic and leading expert in advanced nuclear materials, Professor Konstantina Lambrinou, has been named the winner of three global awards by The European journal.

Professor Lambrinou has been honoured in The European Awards 2025 three times over, as the recipient of the following awards:

 - Excellence in Nuclear Engineering Award 2025

 - Clean Energy Materials Visionary Award 2025

 - Woman of The Year for STEM Leadership Award 2025

Professor Lambrinou is Professor of Advanced Materials at the School of Computing and Engineering at the University of Huddersfield. Her research interests revolve around the accelerated development of advanced nuclear materials, including accident-tolerant fuels (ATFs).

Professor Lambrinou is the coordinator of the H2020 IL TROVATORE project, an international collaboration involving 30 partners from the EU, the USA and Japan, funded by H2020 Europe’s Euratom Research and Training Programme.

She is also the coordinator of the HORIZON SCORPION project, an international collaboration involving 16 partners from the EU, the UK, the USA, Japan, and Switzerland, funded by Horizon Europe’s Euratom Research and Training Programme. Moreover, she is the European lead of the I-NERI US/EURATOM PERSEUS project, and the technical lead of a Westinghouse-led GAIN VOUCHER program funded by US-DOE.

The above projects focus on innovative ATF cladding materials, the development of which is driven by the demand for enhanced nuclear energy safety in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi event in 2011.

Of the triple honour, Professor Lambrinou commented: “I was really caught by surprise back in November 2025 when they called me from The European to inform me that I won three awards, as I was not even aware of the journal’s online voting system. For me, these awards are not only a great honour but also a recognition for 15 years of hard work in the field of nuclear materials science and engineering.”

Professor Leigh Fleming, Acting Dean - School of Computing & Engineering, commented: “I am delighted that Konstantina has been honoured with these awards; they are a testament to her hard work and dedication to research. She has developed unique expertise in the field, and I am so delighted that it has been recognised with such a prestigious accolade.”

The European offers expert coverage of finance, technology, energy, leadership and emerging market trends and holds a position as a trusted source of high-quality global business insight.

Its annual awards programme celebrates achievement, innovation and excellence, with nominations submitted through an online voting system.

The awards team detailed that Professor Lambrinou, especially in leading the HORIZON SCORPION international collaborative project, was highly deserving of these awards for its pioneering development of revolutionary ATF cladding materials.

They added that the project not only enhances the inherent safety of future nuclear energy but also demonstrates exceptional international cooperation in addressing one of the most critical challenges facing the global power industry today.

Professor Lambrinou has featured in The European on multiple occasions, including on the front cover of its Spring 2025 edition, under the heading CORE STRENGTH: Prof Konstantina Lambrinou leads Europe’s race to engineer nuclear materials tough enough for Earth – and beyond.