8th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy 2025

“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

“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

“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

“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