REVIEW - 8TH POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM ON FERROUS METALLURGY – 25th FEBRUARY 2025
VIDEO REVIEW – https://youtu.be/nsYk3Mk0wa8?si=HjkQPpgIwYDwLAWT
QUOTES FROM A FEW ATTENDEES….
“It was fantastic to see the breadth of research being carried out within the field of ferrous metallurgy and the quality of presentations and posters on the day were excellent. The historic surroundings of the Armourers Hall provided an inspiring venue to meet a diverse range of researchers, representing a wide spectrum of interests, across industry, national labs and academia. I look forward to attending the next symposium!”
Dr David Bowden
Materials Science and Engineering – Group Leader
UK Atomic Energy Authority
“The 8th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy held at the wonderful Armourers’ Hall, was an exceptional event. We heard 10 outstanding talks from PhD students and viewed 16 excellent posters. I was really impressed by the universally high standard and heartened by the exciting research being presented. Along with a great atmosphere, it was a great way to capture the state-of-the-art in ferrous metallurgy.”
Professor Mark Rainforth, FREng
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
University of Sheffield
“I get great value out of attending this event each year and from discussing topics of high industrial importance with university and industrial attendees and forging lasting networks with them.”
Gill Thornton, BSc, MBA, FIMMM
R&D Manager, Globus Metal Powders Ltd
“Being a judge at this event is one of my annual highlights and this year did not disappoint. The talks and posters were on the widest range of topics to date and highlighted how important steel continues to be to so many different industries. Watching the Symposium grow and develop over the last eight years has been a joy – without a doubt it is now the place to be seen as an early career researcher! This is reflected in the applications to present and the sold-out registrations. It was wonderful to see people that had given posters last year returning to give presentations this year and I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of this year’s poster presenters at the 2026 Symposium.”
Dr Diane Aston FIMMM MWES
Head of Education and Professional Development
Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining
REVIEW OF THE SYMPOSIUM
Armourers Hall, London, hosted the 8th Annual Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy on 25th 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 come together and 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
Terry Walsh, CEO of the Materials Processing Institute, chaired the symposium and opened proceedings by welcoming all delegates. Terry 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, the Bessemer Lecture and awarding of prizes.
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 involved in ferrous metallurgy.
RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
Presentations were split over three sessions, two in the morning and one in the afternoon, and the range of research presented across the whole ferrous metallurgy spectrum added to the appeal of the symposium.
Session 1 – PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
The first session was chaired by Gill Thornton from Globus Metal Powders Ltd. This session focused on product development and featured three presentations involving students from the universities of Sheffield, Birmingham and Leicester and Swansea universities covering –
- Use of ferrous alloys as radiation damage resistant materials for fusion
- 3D lattice strain quantification in neutron irradiated steels for fusion energy
- The design and microstructure of low activation bainite steel
Session 2 – PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
After a short break and further opportunity to view and discuss the posters on display, the second session began. Professor Hongbiao Dong of the University of Leicester, chaired the session on process improvement and introduced presenters from Cranfield, Swansea and Warwick universities. The presenters spoke about –
- Process variables relevant to cold-wire gas metal arc welding during structural steel repairs
- The impact of high recycled content on high formability products
- Ferrite grain size control for structural steel tubes
BESSEMER LECTURE
The morning concluded with The Bessemer Lecture delivered by Professor Mark Rainforth, who was awarded the 2024 Bessemer Gold Medal. This Gold Medal is awarded annually by IOM3 "for outstanding services to the steel industry, to the inventor or designer of any significant innovation in the process employed in the manufacture of steel, or for innovation in the use of steel in the manufacturing industry or the economy generally". The Bessemer Gold Medal is the IOM3’s most historic Premier Award.
The title of Professor Rainforth’s lecture was: Designing steel for a sustainable low carbon future
The lecture addressed the major challenges and success stories in green steel production with examples and case studies of how steels can be designed to give improved properties, but with less reliance on critical elements and lower CO2 emissions in their manufacture. The lecture considered lean steel production, switching from BOS steel to EAF steelmaking, designing steels for Fusion Power reactors and designing steels for the hydrogen economy.
That ended proceedings for the morning. Lunch followed with another opportunity to network and view the poster display.
Session 3 – STRUCTURE MEASUREMENT AND PROPERTY PREDICTION
The afternoon opened with the final session of student presentations which focused on structure measurement and property prediction. The Session Chair, Dr Richard Thackray, from the University of Sheffield introduced four presentations from students from Brunel, Strathclyde and Swansea universities talking through their research on –
- Correlation between electrical resistivity, ultrasonic measurements and microstructural changes in SS316 under high-cycle fatigue
- Fatigue and fracture mechanics properties of structural steels in adverse environments
- A computational approach towards proactive scale management for steel pipes
- Influence of iron oxide corrosion on hydrogen uptake and susceptibility to embrittlement in pipeline steels
The above presentations can be viewed on the review page - https://www.mpiuk.com/postgraduate-research-symposium-2025.htm
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Following a short break after Session 3 the keynote speech was given by Dr David Bowden, Materials Science and Engineering Group Leader ag the UK Atomic Energy Authority. The title of this presentation was –
Increasing the heat – Developing next-generation high-temperature steels to deliver commercial fusion energy
This presentation looked at the challenge of developing steels to use in fusion plants and utilising the UK national infrastructure to deliver the tonnages of materials required by the end of the decade being explored and developed as part of the NEURONE (Neutron Irradiation of Advanced Steels) project.
PRIZES AND PRESENTATIONS
Prior to the informal drinks reception, the day concluded with the awarding of prizes.
Millman Scholarship - The Millman Scholarship was awarded to Mollie Watson, who is currently studying Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds. The Millman Scholarship is a 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.
Ashok Kumar Fellowship - The Ashok Kumar Fellowship was awarded to Joe Greaves who graduated from the University of Sheffield, UK with a first-class master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. The fellowship is run by the Materials Processing Institute in conjunction with the IChemE and Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). The Fellowship provides a three-month placement working alongside policymakers in the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology. Joe is currently on placement in POST.
BEST PRESENTATIONS AND POSTER
The judging panel was once again made up of academic and industry experts. The Head Judge was Dr Diane Aston, Head of Education and Professional Development at IOM3 supported by Dr Stuart Millman, a former Principal Scientist at the Materials Processing Institute and Dr Geoffrey Andrews, a member of the Armourers & Brasiers Materials Science Committee.
Professor Emma Ream, Master of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers presented the prizes.
Best Presentation - Awarded to Megan Kendall from Swansea University for her presentation on ‘A computational approach towards proactive scale management for steel pipelines’.
Presentation Runner Up – Awarded to Lucy Fitzgerald, from the University of Birmingham for her presentation on ‘3D lattice strain quantification in neutron irradiated steels for fusion energy’.
Best Poster - Awarded to Mohammed Siddiqui from the University of Leicester for his clear and well-presented poster on ‘CFD modelling of electric arc furnace process for sustainable steelmaking’.
The judges were keen to acknowledge the very high standard of all presentations and posters and that it was pleasing to see so much excellent research taking place and helping to ensure that again the symposium had been a great success. They also commented on it being good to have several previous poster authors coming back to give presentations.
RESEARCH POSTERS
Sixteen 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 covered on the posters included coating and barrier property design strategies for protection against hydrogen embrittlement, CFD modelling of electric arc furnace (EAF) process for sustainable steelmaking, capture and reduction of carbon emissions to maximise circularity in the steelmaking process, and simulation of high frequency induction welded thick-walled line pipe products.
The full range of research posters can be seen on the review page - https://www.mpiuk.com/postgraduate-research-symposium-2025.htm
And finally…THANK YOU
Thank you to the sponsors of the 2025 Symposium.
- Tata Steel UK
- The Henry Royce Centre at the University of Sheffield
- Cast Metals Federation
- UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Metals
and everyone else connected with making the day such a great success.
2026 SYMPOSIUM
Registration and sponsorship opportunities for the 9th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy which will take place on 45th February 2026 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…..
"Attending the symposium was the best opportunity I’ve had during my EngD to interact with other doctoral students working in the same field at different universities. I felt that it was a high-support, high-challenge environment with lots of opportunities to learn and grow."
Presentation Winner 2025 - Megan Kendall
EngD Researcher, Swansea University
"It was an invaluable and memorable experience to take part in the symposium and showcase my research at a distinguished platform and engage in insightful discussions with fellow researchers and leading experts in ferrous metallurgy. Winning the Best Poster Prize was truly an honour, and I am delighted for the recognition of my work in this esteemed setting."
Poster Winner 2025 – Mohammed Siddiqui
PhD Researcher, University of Leicester
“I would like to thank the organisers at the Materials Processing Institute for another fantastic event. It was great to return to the symposium for a second year and to be able to present my PhD work to the group. Being able to meet new people and catch up with other returners is always a fun time. To win the Runner-up prize for best presentation was a huge surprise and I am very appreciative that my hard work was clear to the judges and others in attendance.” The Symposium is a fantastic event to network and gain knowledge and ideas from others working in ferrous metallurgy and I will highly encourage more of my peers to register for an opportunity to present in future.”
Presentation Runner-up – Lucy Fitzgerald
PhD Researcher, University of Birmingham
“Thank you for organising such a fantastic symposium. I really enjoyed the event and found the presentations highly insightful and engaging. It was a great opportunity to share my research and learn from others in the field.
Pengxin Wang
PhD Researcher, University of Leicester
“I was delighted to present my work at the 8th postgraduate symposium on ferrous metallurgy. It was a great event showcasing the advanced level of research going on within the UK for a wide range of steel applications.”
Anthony Reilly
PhD Researcher, University of Strathclyde
“An excellent day yesterday presenting my work at the Materials Processing Institute’s 8th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy. It was great to connect (and reconnect) with fellow researchers from across the iron and steel industry. Congratulations to all that presented posters and presentations. A particular highlight was the keynote presentation from David Bowden outlining the important role steel will play in the future of fusion - a field I continue to be excited to work in!”
Sophie Barwick
PhD Researcher, University of Sheffield
“Lovely to be back at the Armourers' Hall, London, for my 5th conference yesterday. It's an event I look forward to every year for the high quality of research presentations, posters and opportunity to network with those involved in the steel industry. I was pleased to hear critical minerals and metals mentioned in several of the presentations, an issue I am passionate about. It was also a pleasure to talk in person with people I've 'met' online through projects since joining Frazer-Nash Consultancy last April.”
Dan Britton
Materials Performance Engineer, Frazer-Nash Consultancy
“I was honoured to be selected to present a poster focusing on the potential use of ferrous metals as negative electrodes for battery-electrolyser systems. It was a fantastic experience engaging with leading researchers, industry experts, and professionals in the field of ferrous metallurgy. The insightful discussions and valuable feedback reinforced the importance of developing sustainable and cost-effective materials for energy storage applications.”
Sadiq Abdullahi
PhD Researcher, Loughborough University
"I had a wonderful opportunity to participate in the 8th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy in London earlier this week and present a poster. It was a pleasure to see a variety of research projects on green steelmaking, circular economy in the steel industry, and alloy development for nuclear fusion reactors. The UK's progress toward becoming a global leader in fusion energy is encouraging."
Anna Voytyukova
EngD Student, Swansea University
31 March 2025
