Review - 7th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy
REVIEW - 7TH POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM ON FERROUS METALLURGY – 27th FEBRUARY 2024
VIDEO REVIEW - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptCNMDX7yG0
QUOTES FROM A FEW ATTENDEES….
The symposium is a fantastic opportunity to present research, gain feedback from experts in the field and learn about the latest findings at other universities. I highly recommend it to all students, it is a brilliant event to network and gain knowledge and ideas from others working in ferrous metallurgy.
Hannah Clarke, Postgraduate Researcher, Swansea University
If you are doing postgraduate work in steels I would heavily recommend that you attend this wonderful conference, because not only is it an excellent chance to present, it’s also an excellent opportunity to meet people who do similar work as you. It’s an excellent overview of the steel industry.
Enn Veikesaar, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Manchester
The annual Postgraduate Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy is an enjoyable, insightful experience to the state of the art in research across leading metallurgical academic groups in the UK. In the beautiful, historic surroundings of Armourers Hall there are prime opportunities for networking across industry and academic leaders in metals processing as well as the next generation of metallurgists. I would recommend the event to anyone with an interest in ferrous metallurgy innovation across the supply chain.
Richard Dawidek, Research and Business Engagement Lead, Henry Royce Institute
I was truly thrilled to receive the award for Best Poster at the 2024 symposium. The entire day was enriching and inspiring, offering valuable insights and opportunities to expand my network. Looking forward to the next symposium in 2025!
Amir Cheshmehzangi, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Warwick
I love to see the variety of papers and posters and the enthusiasm of the young people. It’s just inspirational for me to see and that’s why I love to chair a session at the symposium each year. Thanks for inviting me.
Gill Thornton, BSc, MBA, FIMMM, R&D Manager, Globus Metal Powders Ltd
Thank you for inviting me to judge again – it was a great day and its always one of the highlights of my year!
Dr Diane Aston FIMMM MWES, Head of Education and Professional Development, Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining
It was a pleasure presenting at the Symposium and have learnt a lot not only from my own project but also seeing presentations from other PhD students. It’s a great event that is organised every year and I will highly encourage more of my peers to register for an opportunity to present in future.
Ajitesh Sharma, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Warwick
REVIEW OF THE SYMPOSIUM
Armourers Hall, London, hosted the 7th Annual Postgraduate research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy on 27th February. This symposium provides the perfect opportunity for postgraduate students from industry and academia to showcase their research. The symposium also enables industry to highlight areas for future research and it provides a forum for the ferrous metallurgy industry and academic community to forge strong and lasting networks.
The Symposium is firmly established as one of the UK’s premier annual metallurgical events and once again it was ‘sold out’. It is organised by the Materials Processing Institute, with support from the Armourers & Brasiers Company and the Iron and Steel Group of IOM3.
INTRODUCTIONS
Chris McDonald, Strategy Consultant at the Materials Processing Institute, chaired the symposium for the sixth time and opened proceedings by welcoming all delegates. Chris outlined how the symposium connects the research and industrial base in ferrous materials and showcases the best of UK ferrous metallurgical research, outlining the range of activities scheduled during the day including student and industry presentations, poster displays, an exhibition, keynote speech, and awarding of medals and prizes from the Iron & Steel Group of IOM3.
Two central activities at the symposium are the presentations and poster display from students. Applications to present this year were again oversubscribed and among those selected were several researchers who had previously displayed a poster. There was good representation from UK universities, including Southampton University being involved for the very first time.
Researchers from the Materials and Design Exchange (MaDE) were also attending to talk with delegates during the breaks about the impact of material developments on aspects of climate change and sustainability.
RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
Presentations were split over three sessions, two in the morning and one in the afternoon, and the range of research presented added to the appeal of the symposium across the whole ferrous metallurgy spectrum.
Session 1 – PROCESS DEVELOPMENT
The first session was chaired by Dr Richard Thackray MIMMM from the University of Sheffield. This session focused on process development and featured three presentations from students from Warwick and Swansea universities covering –
- Optimisation of next generation galvanising pot hardware
- The influence of composition on cast microstructure for different casting technologies
- Development of formable steel grades through alternative steelmaking processes
Session 2 – NEW APPROACHES FOR FUTURE MANUFACTURE
After a drink and an opportunity to look at the posters, the second session began. Professor Hongbaio Dong FREng CEng FIMMM of the University of Leicester, chaired the session on new approaches for future manufacture and introduced presenters from Brunel, Cranfield and Warwick universities. The presenters spoke about –
- Rationalisation of steel grades and specifications
- Challenges in wire-arc additive manufacturing
- Augmenting thermodynamic oxidation data for dual phase steels using synthetic data
That ended proceedings for the morning. Lunch was accompanied by the chance to network and have a further look and discussions about the research posters.
Session 3 – CHARACTERISATION AND PROPERTIES
The final presentation session focused on characterisation and properties. The Chair, Gill Thornton FIMMM, of Globus Metal Powders Ltd, introduced four presentations from students at Southampton, Strathclyde, Leicester and Manchester universities detailing research on –
- Hydrogen embrittlement of L-PBF manufactured 316L stainless steel
- The effect of inconsistent casting on the mechanical performance of cast iron wind turbine components
- In situ synchrotron radiography investigation of graphite nodule evolution during solidification in ductile cast iron
- Characterising reheated microstructures of microalloyed multipass C-Mn steel welds
The above presentations can be viewed on the review page - https://www.mpiuk.com/postgraduate-research-symposium-2024.htm
RESEARCH POSTERS
Thirteen research posters were on display throughout the day and delegates and judges had the opportunity to speak directly to the poster authors during the intervals. Topics explored included steels for nuclear fusion applications, the development and assessment of metallic antimicrobial coatings for steels, the impact of cryogenic treatments on corrosion resistance, and capture and reduction of carbon emissions to maximise circularity in steelmaking.
The full range of research posters can be seen on the review page - https://www.mpiuk.com/postgraduate-research-symposium-2024.htm
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Following a short break after Session 3 the keynote speech was given by Dr Pam Murrell FICME, Chief Executive of the Cast Metals Federation, on ‘The challenges and opportunities for the UK castings industry – can castings be a solution for the transition to net zero?’
An overview of the industry was given, showcasing some of the newer developments and innovations being taken by foundries and suppliers, including the use of additive manufacturing techniques, simulation, resource efficiency and process optimisation.
MILLMAN SCHOLARSHIP AND ASHOK KUMAR FELLOWSHIP
The Millman Scholarship was awarded to Aimee Hughes, who is currently studying Mathematics at the University of Manchester. The Millman Scholarship is an undergraduate scholarship programme, run by the Materials Processing Institute in collaboration with the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers to support undergraduate students during their studies, enabling them to benefit from the expertise and experience of world leading industrial and materials researchers and gain work placement experience.
The Ashok Kumar Fellowship, run by the Materials Processing Institute in conjunction with the IChemE and Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) was awarded to Dylan Sherman, currently in his final year of a DPhil in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. The Fellowship provides a three-month placement working alongside policymakers in the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology.
PRIZES FOR BEST PRESENTATIONS AND POSTER
Prior to the informal drinks reception, the day concluded with the awarding of prizes for presentations and posters. The judging panel was once again made up of academic and industry experts, all of whom who had been involved in judging previous symposiums. The Head Judge was Professor Bill Bonfield, University of Cambridge, supported by Dr Diane Aston, Head of Education and Professional Development at IOM3, Dr Stuart Millman, a former Principal Scientist at the Materials Processing Institute and Mike Goulette, formerly of Rolls Royce and a previous Master of the Worshipful Company of Armourers & Brasiers.
Dr Roger Bowdler, Master of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers presented the prizes.
- Best Presentation Prize - Awarded to Enn Veikesaar from the University of Manchester for his presentation on ‘Characterising reheated microstructures of micro alloyed multi-pass C-Mn steel’.
- Presentation Runner Up Prize – Awarded to Ajitesh Sharma, also from the University of Warwick for his talk on ‘The influence of composition on the cast microstructure for different casting technologies’.
- Best Poster Prize - Awarded to Amir Cheshmehzangi from the University of Warwick for his striking poster entitled ‘Development of a digital twin framework for the steel bending process’.
The judges agreed that the symposium had once again been a great success and that it was pleasing to see so much excellent research taking place and wonderful to have previous poster authors coming back to deliver presentations.
The judges acknowledged the very high standard of all presentations and posters.
JON BOLTON LEADS THE THANKS TO CHRIS MCDONALD
With Chris McDonald standing as a parliamentary candidate at the next General Election prior to the drinks reception Jon Bolton, Executive Chairman of the Materials Processing Institute, addressed the audience to thank Chris McDonald for his services and support for the symposium over the years.
Jon explained that this was the sixth symposium that Chris had chaired and that it was Chris’s inspiration back in 2017 to set up this research symposium, and since the first symposium in 2018 it has run every year, including remotely during the Covid pandemic. Chris has led and been the Chair of all except one of the symposiums during that time.
Jon went on to say that during the last 7 years over 700 delegates have attended the symposium, 72 ferrous metallurgy presentations have been delivered, 82 posters have been displayed and 7 keynote presentations have been given by leaders within the industry.
Jon concluded his thanks to Chris by saying that Chris has always been a huge supporter of promoting and developing STEM related opportunities for future generations, as demonstrated by this symposium, the Millman Scholarship, and the Ashok Kumar Fellowship; along with other support he has led while at the Materials Processing Institute, including Year-in-Industry opportunities, school and college visits and other engagement activities.
And finally…THANK YOU
Thank you to the sponsors of the 2024 Symposium.
- Tata Steel UK
- Materials and Research Design Exchange (MaDE)
- UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Metals
- The Henry Royce Centre at the University of Sheffield
- UK Metals Council
- Cast Metals Federation
and everyone else connected with making the day such a great success.
To access the full review page for the 2024 Symposium, click on this link - https://www.mpiuk.com/postgraduate-research-symposium-2024.htm
2025 SYMPOSIUM
Registration and sponsorship opportunities for the 8th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy which will take place on 25th February 2025 are now open and researchers are invited to submit applications to present, or to display a poster.
For more information visit https://www.mpiuk.com/postgraduate-research-symposium.htm.
A FEW MORE QUOTES…..
I enjoyed attending and presenting the symposium. The feedback I received was very helpful - thank you for the opportunity!
Nicola Beech – Postgraduate Researcher, University of Warwick
Attending the Symposium was an extremely positive experience, as it provided a platform to showcase my research to many experts in the field of materials and to receive valuable feedback on my work. Moreover, I have had the opportunity to engage with other postgraduate students and to discover the latest innovations in ferrous metallurgy.
Giovanni Alperone – Postgraduate Researcher, Swansea University
The symposium was a great chance to connect with other researchers and industry. I’ve met new colleagues who work in similar areas and shared our research and ideas. I also received valuable suggestions from people working in industry. The experience has inspired me to solve my current problems more efficiently, and to explore exciting new directions in my research.
Yixiang Jin, Postgraduate Researcher, Southampton University
Attending the symposium was an enriching experience that left me feeling inspired and motivated. The opportunity to present and engage with experts in the field and explore the latest advancements in materials science has truly broadened my perspective and deepened my passion for my PhD and metallurgy as a whole.
Obey Suleyman, PhD Researcher, Strathclyde University
The selection of the papers presented was excellent showing the leading areas of materials research. As a PhD student, I learned many things from these presentations. This platform provided me with a good audience for disseminating the knowledge developed from my own PhD research.
Soumyajit Koley, Postgraduate Researcher, Cranfield University
As always it was a very well organised and enjoyable event.
Dr Richard Thackray MIMMM, Senior Lecturer in Metallurgy and Metals Production, University of Sheffield
It was a very interesting and enjoyable day. I will look forward to next year’s event!
Mike Goulette CEng, FREng, FRAeS, FIMMM, Retired, Master 2019-20, Symposium Judge
Thank you for organising this important annual event. It is very useful for students, and very enjoyable day for everyone who attends.
Hongbiao Dong FREng, FIMMM, Professor of Materials Engineering, University of Leicester
Thank you again for the opportunity to present! It was an enjoyable symposium with many great posters and presentations.
Obey Suleyman, PhD Student, Strathclyde University
Congratulations on another very successful and enjoyable symposium.
Anne-Marie Clift, Chief Executive, Armourers & Brasiers’ Gauntlet Trust
I enjoyed my experience at the 7th Symposium. The event was well-planned and executed, showcasing a diverse range of research presentations.
Xiangmei Ding, PhD Student, University of Leicester
21 March 2024
