Dr. Naomi Mburu is a Rhodes Scholar with experience in nuclear fusion and science education. She currently works as the lead analyst at Fusion Advisory Services, where she provides analysis on various topics related to fusion energy for governments, investors, and companies.
In 2024, she completed her PhD in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, where she focused on liquid metal plasma-facing components for fusion applications. Her research explored experimental and numerical methods of measuring the impact of magnetic fields on free surface, liquid metal flows. Towards the end of her PhD, she was awarded the Robert Ellis Fellowship from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to support her research.
Beyond her research, Naomi has extensive experience in education and consulting. She has designed and taught fusion-specific curricula in the UK and Saudi Arabia and served as the lead tutor for the chemical engineering undergraduate elective at Oxford. She has also consulted on education-based programs, including the University of Oxford’s Black Academic Futures scholarship initiative. In the private sector, she worked at Tokamak Energy, a leading fusion company, where she contributed to a successful US DOE milestone-based fusion program proposal and engaged with the business development team to gain insights into fusion funding mechanisms.
Naomi is passionate about widening participation in STEM and has held leadership roles in various organizations. She was a committee member for the Association for Black and Minority Engineers (AFBE-UK), where she co-organized its first-ever conference and created the “Next Big Idea” competition to support student and professional innovators. She also co-founded EmpowerYOUni, a novel access scheme aimed at increasing diversity at the University of Oxford. She has shared her expertise through invited talks at institutions like the University of Michigan and at international conferences on fusion energy.
