The STFC graduates yearn for the mines

We are, of course, referring to Boulby Underground Laboratory, perhaps STFC’s most remarkable national facility and one of only 12 deep underground laboratories worldwide.

Ciaran is one of our two staff members based there, applying his mechanical engineering expertise to ensure that Boulby’s laboratories can continue to facilitate pioneering scientific research.

Recently, he upgraded the electroforming area for the DarkSPHERE experiment, which uses electricity to manufacture the ultra-pure copper detector that will hunt for ‘light’ dark matter.

This work is already complex, with Ciaran doing everything from producing engineering drawings to making mechanical calculations for custom equipment.

But it is made even more complicated at Boulby, where every single piece of equipment must travel down to the facility in a two-metre-by-two-metre mine cage first.

Alongside his work on DarkSPHERE, Ciaran is also involved in early-stage design and feasibility work for potential new laboratories in the mine, along with the supporting infrastructure on the surface.

This work highlights another challenge of operating underground – naturally occurring radon gas.

Even with Boulby’s comparatively low levels, radon can deposit radioactive lead on sensitive, expensive scientific detectors, affecting their accuracy.

That’s where engineers like Ciaran come in.

He completed a detailed study into liner systems that will keep equipment in optimal working condition, while also meeting fire safety requirements and accounting for long-term changes to the rock structure.