George Young MWeldI CEng is a Fellow Engineer working at Kairos Power LLC with a PhD from the University of Virginia. George joined The Welding Institute in June 2024. He currently is driving the qualification of metallic alloys for use in advanced, salt-cooled reactor systems at Kairos Power. He talks through why he chose a career in engineering, why he became Chartered, and about his future career goals.

Intro to you and your career in engineering

Why did you choose a career in engineering? 

I thought Materials Science was fascinating and if I could make a career out of failure analysis or by breaking metal samples it would be fun – and it is.

What’s one of your biggest career highlights or achievements that you’re most proud of? 

Working on environmental degradation issues and helping to make reactor systems safe and long lived.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced in your career and how did you overcome this?  

Public speaking used to be very difficult but a lot of speech therapy for a stutter and a thousand videoconferences later, I probably talk too much now.

Early Professional Membership

Why did you initially join The Welding Institute?

Initially, I was interested in assessing local vacuum electron beam welding, a technology that TWI Ltd pioneered and then commercialised via Cambridge Vacuum Engineering.  As I worked more in-depth on high temperature reactor issues, it was clear that the UK has tremendous depth and breadth in this field.  The Welding Institute maintains a great corporate knowledge of those challenges and solutions and, by joining The Institute, I gained access to key literature and some great colleagues.

Tell us a bit about the process of becoming a Member of The Welding Institute.

The Institutes’ staff were a great help, as I didn’t appreciate the rigorous process of becoming and maintaining my CEng.

Professional Membership and Registration: CEng

When and why did you choose to become professionally registered?

When my company began to engage with UK businesses, professional registration seemed like a good way to connect with colleagues facing similar technical challenges.

How has Professional Registration as CEng supported you in your career?

The connections and resources associated with being a CEng have been a great help.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of becoming CEng?  

Meeting other technical professionals has been, by far, the best aspect of becoming a CEng.

Current Membership

What are your core involvements with The Welding Institute, what do they entail and why do you undertake them?

To date, I have primarily been involved with the American Welding Society, where I am a Principal Reviewer for the Welding Journal Research Supplement, but look forward to becoming more involved with The Institute and publishing in Welding and Joining Matters.

Which membership benefits do you use the most and find the most helpful and why?

The Institute’s information and knowledge services are fantastic. I’ve found several key welding references that are only available through the Institute.

Future (Membership and Career)

What are your engineering aspirations?

I am at the stage in my career where I would like to help others grow their interest and expertise in Welding Metallurgy and Materials Science.  We all benefit from having a central technical resource like the Institute and seeing them grow and adapt to new industries and technologies is very rewarding.

Would you recommend Membership with The Welding Institute and why?

Yes, membership with the Institute comes with access to a great group of people, laboratories, and technical resources.

What advice would you give or what would you say to your younger self beginning your career in engineering?

I should have joined the Institute early in my career – it would have helped me make professional contacts and opened-up a wealth of technical resources.

We thank George for his kind contribution as part of Chartered Week, running between 24-28 February 2025.

We would like to invite anyone interested in Chartership at The Welding Institute to visit here.

If you would like to find out more on the week, please find here.