News

17 February 2021

First videos to show the helix of ‘dancing DNA’ developed by scientists

Videos allowing us to see for the first time how small circles of DNA adopt dance-like movements inside a cell have been developed by researchers at universities in Yorkshire.
SEM image of freeze dried Bacterial Cellulose, showing the fibrous nature of the material.
22 February 2021

Developing bio-based materials for a greener world.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have been developing a range of bio-based materials with the potential to replace non-recyclable plastics in packaging applications and are now making progress on up-scaling production processes.

Microstructure of a fine-grained steel
The left hand image shows the utra-fine grain size (each colour is an individual grain). The right hand image shows the atomic structure (each bright sphere is a atom).
22 February 2021

High strength steels offer the potential to lower CO2 emissions in the automotive industry

Researchers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering have developed a completely new way of making high strength steel that is easy to adapt to mass manufacture.
The process of cold sintering to densify glass
Schematic illustrating the different stages of the cold sintering process (Reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. (https://doi.org/10.1595/205651320X15814150061554)
22 October 2020

Researchers develop an energy efficient technique for densification of biocompatible glass powder.

Researchers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering have applied a new low temperature (<250°C) processing technique to bioactive glasses which could be used to repair human tissues in a safe, sustainable way.
Schematic of formation and coalescence of Uranium Oxide nanoclusters on magnetite.

Developments in the treatment of radioactive waste

Ongoing research from the Nuclear Materials research group continues to develop the understanding of how radioactive waste materials can be processed for long-term safe storage. Two recent developements are reviewed here.

11 January 2021
Marco Amores

Nature paper published on a newly discovered solid state electrolyte

Research from across two University of Sheffield Engineering Departments - Materials Science and Engineering and Chemical and Biological Engineering - has revealed a new type of solid electrolyte which could be used batteries of the future.

15 December 2020

MSE Alumna receives Lady Engineer Award from the Institution of Engineers

Materials Science and Engineering alumna and Chemistry PhD student Manasi Mulay has received a Lady Engineer Award from the Institution of Engineers in her home country of India.

14 December 2020
Arc melting of a new alloy composition

Expert comment: Future of nuclear fusion

Following the annoucement that the UK Government is looking for a site for a prototype nuclear fusion power plant, Dr Amy Gandy helps to allay fears of communities concerned about the technology.

3 December 2020
Dr Antonia Yorkshire receives the Adam Neville PhD 2020 award

Further PhD student prize success for the Department

Recent PhD Graduate from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr Antonia Yorkshire was named as the winner of the The Adam Neville Prize, presented to the best national PhD in the field of cement and concrete.

23 November 2020