2026 Young Persons' Lecture Competition UK final

Scotland

Angus Coyne-Grell

Angus completed his PhD on the forging of Nickel based superalloys at the Advanced Forming Research Centre, which is part of the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow. His PhD was supported by Aubert&Duval, and he made an eye-opening visit to their site near Clermont Ferrand during his PhD. He now works at the AFRC as an Engineering Technologist.

Outside of Nickel superalloys, he enjoys cheering the Glasgow Warriors rugby team and lamenting the Wales rugby team.

Shifting boundaries: Controlling grain structure in nickel-based superalloys without deformation

Nickel-based superalloys are used in the hot parts of jet engines due to their excellent high temperature mechanical properties. However, these properties are only fully realised in alloys with the correct grain size and distribution of strengthening precipitates. It is the job of forging companies to achieve this grain size through hot forging. Essentially, high temperature blacksmithing. Naturally, the high temperature strength of nickel superalloys makes this hot forging challenging – the alloys are hard to deform and can be prone to cracking.

This work shows a novel way of controlling the grain structure of nickel superalloys, using only heat treatments, without deformation. Grain boundary migration driven by precipitation during controlled cooling is shown to significantly modify grain size and morphology, offering a new extension to traditional thermomechanical processing. This exciting result is evidenced using 3D electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction mapping.

North West & North Wales

Olivia Johnson

Olivia is a degree apprentice at Sellafield Ltd, developing technical experience within the nuclear industry, with a particular interest in materials performance in demanding environments.

Outside of work, she can usually be found balancing time between the gym or making the most of living in the Lake District through long walks (weather permitting). They also enjoy spending time with their boyfriend — and their cat, Stella, who tends to take priority.

When replacement is not an option: Materials for nuclear waste storage

Nuclear waste storage presents a unique materials challenge in which engineered components must perform safely for timescales far beyond inspection, repair, or replacement. In this context, materials selection is driven not by peak performance, but by the need for predictable and well-understood degradation under complex environmental conditions.

This lecture explores the role of metallic materials, with a particular focus on steel, in the long-term containment of nuclear waste. It examines why steels remain central to waste package design, despite the availability of more corrosion-resistant alloys, and how microstructure, processing routes, and weld behaviour influence long-term performance. Key degradation mechanisms, including corrosion and environmental interactions, are discussed in the context of geological disposal.

Rather than presenting novel materials, the lecture highlights the professional judgement required to design for unpredictable conditions.

South West & South Wales

Adam Garside

Adam is a third-year undergraduate studying Materials Science and Engineering at Swansea University. His dissertation focuses on compositing carbon nanotubes with PLA to investigate its potential as a thermal actuator for use in prosthetics. 

Outside of engineering, Adam enjoys hiking, wild swimming, and spending time with his partner and their new dachshund, Bernie.

From Concept to Function: Designing a 3D-Printed Prosthetic Hand

In this lecture, I will explore the design and testing process of a novel four-finger prosthetic that I designed and 3D-printed during a summer internship with Swansea University. I will focus on the importance of iterative design, ergonomics, and the integral role of research in any engineering project. Using the completed prosthetic, I will showcase its mechanical function and discuss its potential benefits to the medical industry as a proof-of-concept for low-cost, recyclable, and customisable prosthetics that can be produced using any multi-material 3D printer.

Midlands

Nicholas Hall

Nicholas is a third-year PhD researcher at the University of Nottingham, specializing in Reactive Hydride Composites (RHCs). While electrification is vital, batteries cannot solve everything; my work focuses on RHCs as a solution to decarbonizing 'heavy' sectors like shipping and agriculture via high density hydrogen and ammonia storage. To bridge the knowledge gap in these materials, Nicholas investigates structural transformations during hydrogen reactions. This research has taken him to international neutron and synchrotron facilities, where he recently conducted the first in-operando total scattering studies of RHCs. These experiments have allowed us to map local structures and reaction kinetics in real-time, providing completely new insights into how these materials function.

Outside of work Nicholas is a huge outdoors person, he enjoys getting out into nature and finding new places to explore, both in the UK and abroad. He is a keen triathlete, representing the development squad at Nottingham University and last October he completed his second Ironman in Cascais, Portugal finishing in just over nine and a half hours.

Why Does Structure Matter? Unlocking <100 °C Hydrogen Release in Reactive Hydride Composites

Hydrogen storage remains the "missing link" in the global transition toward a sustainable hydrogen economy. While lightweight complex hydrides offer exceptionally high theoretical storage densities, making them ideal candidates for mobile applications, their practical integration is severely hindered by sluggish kinetics and high operating temperatures. By manipulating the stoichiometry of the Mg(NH₂)₂-LiH-LiBH4 system, we have achieved reversible hydrogen release at just 350 K (77 °C). This represents a transformative reduction in operating temperature compared to standard systems, bringing solid-state storage within the range of waste heat utilization.

To begin to decode the mechanisms behind this enhancement, we utilized structural characterisation techniques, including Synchrotron (X-ray) and Neutron scattering. This has enabled us to probe the critical relationship between the structures and hydrogen release, providing a blueprint for the development of next-generation RHCs.

South East

James McQueen

James is a second-year PhD student at the University of Oxford. His research project is focused on using simulations to study the interfaces between materials in perovskite solar cells - a promising new avenue for photovoltaic energy. This directly follows on from his final year undergraduate project undertaken in the same research group. James also works part-time on machine learning models for Alloys, an alloy development and additive manufacturing company based just outside of Oxford.

Outside of materials science, he enjoys playing the trumpet in the university jazz orchestra, who will be touring Japan next year.

Atomic-Scale Insights into Perovskite Materials for Next-Generation Solar Cells

Securing a sustainable global energy supply will rely on cost-effective, renewable sources. Solar photovoltaics hold great promise in this regard, but scaling up to multi-terawatt levels of annual deployment requires improvements in efficiency beyond the theoretical limits of modern Silicon solar cells to bring total costs down. This has been achieved with perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, but challenges in stability remain.

In this talk, I will motivate the use of tandem solar architectures to break efficiency limits on single-junction cells. I will then present the stability challenges posed by the use of perovskite materials in these devices, and explain how computational modelling can be used to tackle them. Atomistic simulations reveal the way forward for stable perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells.

North East

Heena Faulder

Heena is an EPSRC-funded PhD student within the Natural Materials Group at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering. Her research lies at the intersection of biology, modelling and materials science, and focuses on drawing inspiration from silk for advanced fibre technologies. Prior to this she earned a First Class (Hons) Bachelor’s degree in Biomedicine from the University of East Anglia and a Master’s with Distinction in Synthetic Biology from Newcastle University. Notably, her previous work included developing the first in silico chemical perceptron for cancer biomarker detection - a computational breakthrough currently being utilised by biotech firm Nanovery to advance early-risk diagnostics. Driven by the potential of functional materials, Heena is committed to developing scalable, smart natural materials for global applications. Beyond the laboratory, she is a global culinary enthusiast, fitness lover, and active investor.

New Tricks for Old Threads: The ever-evolving story of silk

What if today’s most sophisticated material had been discovered in a teacup 5,000 years ago? For millennia, silk has been more than a luxurious fabric; it was guarded as an imperial secret in Ancient China and was a global currency that built and sustained dynasties. We are now experiencing a silk renaissance, fuelled by silk's inherent qualities: biocompatibility, sustainability, toughness and tunability. Since 2000, the global silk market has grown at ~8% annually, reaching £20 billion in 2026. 

This talk explores some of silk’s undiscovered properties: how is it so tough, how can it be used in smart packaging and biomedical devices? Join us as we unravel silk to weave a sustainable, high-performance future and witness first-hand how the Queen of Fabrics is reclaiming her throne in the modern world.