Physicist wins Fulbright scholarship

Concern over climate change has prompted Jonathan Squire to think nuclear - with the 21-year-old awarded a Fulbright scholarship to research solving the world's energy needs.

The University of Otago physics honours student has been selected from 150 nominees from 76 countries for the 2010 International Fulbright Science and Technology Awards.

Mr Squire said the award, which includes air fares, tuition fees and a stipend, will enable him to complete a five-year PhD at a leading American academic institution - preferably Princeton University or MIT.

Both universities had graduate programmes in the area of nuclear fusion research - which promises to revolutionise the way people produce power and help in the battle against climate change, he said.

"It has the potential to solve our energy needs."

Nuclear fusion differed from conventional nuclear power generation in that it was cleaner, sustainable and not resource dependent.

However, research into nuclear fusion - a process where the nuclei of atoms are fused together to produce energy - required complex research and it could be decades before it was commercially available, he said.

While no experiments on fusion power were being conducted in New Zealand, the technology could be adapted for use here in the future.

Mr Squire said he was looking forward to living in the United States after spending several months there as a child.

He planned to use the opportunity to further his other interests - climbing and playing the cello.