University of Southampton

The Engineering Materials Research Group is a multidisciplinary collaboration between research groups in Southampton’s Centre for Engineering and the Environment and other research groups across the University. The principal goal of the Group’s research activities is to develop fundamental understanding of the physical processes and interactive mechanisms in materials that affect the performance of engineering systems. This understanding and knowledge is then transferred into engineering technologies through enhanced materials performance and improved designs. Researchers conduct work across a wide range of engineering materials and their applications in energy systems, electronic and biomedical devices, microsystems, and in the aerospace and automotive sectors. Particular strengths of the group include structural materials performance (across many sectors), photovoltaics, nano- and micro-electromechanical systems, surface engineering, corrosion and tribology, electrochemical engineering, and materials processing.

The group is well-equipped with characterisation tools, including a state-of-the-art transmission electron microscope, field emission gun scanning electron microscope, a He ion microscope, access to an AFM, extensive electrochemical facilities and a major new X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner centre at μ-VIS, multidisciplinary multiscale microtomographic volume imaging.

The Group’s staff occupy influential positions on international and national research committees, hold fellowships with the Institute of Materials, Mining and Mineralogy, have been elected to the Peer Review College of EPSRC and occupy editorial positions on leading international research journals, including Principal Editor of Materials Letters and Editor of Materials Science and Engineering. The academic team members are Professor Janice Barton, Professor Ian Sinclair, Professor Ole Thomsen, and Dr Daniel Bull.

Partner interests and experience:

• Full-field and volumetric sensing & imaging
• Advanced experimental mechanics
• Defect and damage characterisation

University of Southampton