Materials Unlocked

Welcome to the first of our two series one specials.Lewis welcomes Beverly Maloney to this special episode. Beverly was awarded the IOM3 Sir Colin Humphreys Education Award in 2023 (at the same time as Lewis received the Silver Medal in Contribution to Knowledge). Also in the studio is Annabel Lau, a final year Materials Science and Engineering MEng student who loves all things metal. Her dissertation is in collaboration with Howmet Aerospace. During her time at the University of Sheffield sh...

PhD researcher Durga Tilak is Lewis's co-host in this final episode of the series. They talk all things recycling, sustainability and long term storage in the world of materials science with expert Dr. Richard Thackray. Durga is in the second year of her PhD in eddy current reduction in automotive permanent magnets in collaboration with Volkswagen. She also sits on the Engineering PGR Students' Committee at the University. A former Rhodes national finalist from India, Durga is a recreational ...

Lewis, alongside student co-host Lucy Farquhar, discuss sample testing with expert Prof. Russell Goodall. Lucy researches the development of refractory high entropy alloys for additive manufacturing. She's a runner and plays netball a lot, aswel as being an avid baker. Asking her to choose a favourite cake is like asking a parent to pick their favourite child!Russell spends his time at work studying metals and thinks that the periodic table is the best map ever created. Outside of work h...

In this episode we shake things up a bit as we enter into Dr Lewis Owen's specialist field. So we welcome back Dr Kathy Christofidou, this time in the role of host as Dr Lewis Owen sits in the 'expert' seat, and they're joined by doctoral researcher Frances Synnott. Frances is a PhD researcher at the University of Sheffield with the Advanced Metallic Systems Centre for Doctoral Training. Her research is sponsored by Rolls-Royce and involves developing superalloys to improve future jet-engine ...

In this episode Lewis welcomes student co-hosts; Ben Jolly and Jacob Whittle to talk all things Advanced Manufacturing with expert Dr Felicity Freeman.Ben and Jacob are both in the third year of their PhD research with the AMSCDT. Ben is currently researching the local structural behaviours of multi-component alloys via Neutron Total Scattering experiments. Encompassing a number of specialised materials of potential significance to nuclear and aerospace industries. He initially graduated with...

In this episode Lewis cohosts with PhD student Wunmi Olukoya and they discuss how and why we produce material samples with Dr. Yunus Azakli and Dr. Will Pulfrey from the Royce team at the University of Sheffield. Wunmi is a researcher from the AMSCDT investigating the interaction between silver and lead-free solders in order to develop new solder alloys. Yunus is the Engineering Lead in Materials Discovery & Prototyping, primarily based at the Royce Discovery Centre at the Unive...

Lewis is joined by guest student cohost Josh Berry in this episode, and expert panel Dr. Claire Utton and Prof. Hector Basoalto. Josh is a PhD student with the AMSCDT investigating material and process design for additive manufacturing of hard metals. Claire is a research fellow at the University of Sheffield, her research interests are based around thermodynamic modelling to predict the behaviour of materials under nominal and extreme conditions. Hector is a Professor of Metal...

Lewis is joined by a new student co-host, Frances Livera, to discuss how to find a solution we first need to properly define the problem with this month's experts, Professor Iain Todd (professor of Metallurgy) and Dr David Bowden (UK Atomic Energy Authority).Frances is a final year PhD student within the AMS CDT. Her research looks into brazing of 3D printed components and how these joints differ from traditionally manufactured materials. She's an active member of the wider University of Shef...

Lewis is joined by two student co-hosts, Kavi Shama and Matt Turton, to discuss what Materials Science is with this month's expert, Dr Kathy Christofidou. Kavi is a final year PhD student with the AMSCDT and is researching the cladding behaviour of high enrichment and high burn-up nuclear fuel: determining the impact of radiation damage on storage and corrosion. Kavi admits he is not the biggest cake fan, and instead would rather reach for a KitKat Chunky. Matt is a second-year PhD stud...

-----We really hope you're enjoying Materials Unlocked and hope you can join us over on Instagram to see more resources from our various topics. To find out more about the various organisations that have supported the production of this podcast please feel free to browse the links below: The Henry Royce Institute; the UK's national institute for advanced materials research and innovationRoyce at the University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield EPSRC and SFI Advanced Metallic Systems ...