Professor Chris Race

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

UKAEA Chair in Fusion Materials

Royal Society University Research Fellow

Henry Royce Institute Research Area Lead for Modelling and Simulation

Co-Director EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Developing National Capability for Materials 4.0

Christopher.Race@sheffield.ac.uk

Sir Robert Hadfield Building

Full contact details

Professor Chris Race
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD

Profile

Professor Chris Race is the UKAEA Chair in Fusion Materials and a Royal Society University Research Fellow within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield. His research group uses the tools of atomistic simulation to investigate the behaviour of a variety of materials and material evolution processes.

Before Chris joined Sheffield in December 2023, he was a Dalton Research Fellow and then Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Department of Materials at the University of Manchester. Before that, he spent three years in the Department of Computational Materials Design of the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research (Eisenforschung) (MPIE) in Dusseldorf Germany, latterly as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow. Chris completed his PhD in 2010, in the Department of Physics, Imperial College London, under the supervision of Adrian Sutton and Matthew Foulkes.

"I am a physicist by training and a materials scientist by inclination. I am attracted to materials science by the links it draws between the behaviour of real materials - things we experience and use in our everyday macroscopic lives - and what happens in the microscopic world of atoms and electrons. Materials science involves the application of fundamental theories of physics to solve real-world problems. As a bonus, these problems are often extremely complex, involving a hierarchy of processes across a range of length and time scales. To model them we need to use a broad range of tools, each with its own strengths and weaknesses."

Research interests

My work uses computer simulations to understand why materials behave the way that they do. Much of the behaviour of real materials in our everyday lives originates at the scale of atoms, propagating upwards through the complex hierarchical structure of the material. For example, the useful lifetime of a component in a fusion reactor depends ultimately on the way fast neutrons from the fusion reaction rearrange the atoms in the crystal structure. By understanding the behaviour of atoms via simulations, we can help to steer the development of improved materials, better suited to meet the challenges faced by society.

Key research interests:

Microstructural evolution in nuclear materials
Electronic effects in irradiation damage
Mechanisms and kinetics of grain boundary migration

Publications

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Featured publications

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Books

Race C (2010) Modelling of Radiation Damage in Metals Using Ehrenfest Dynamics.

Journal articles

Larranaga M, Frankel PG & Race CP (2026) Analysis of simulated X-ray line profiles of atomistic models of prismatic dislocation loops and dipoles in α zirconium. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 626, 156588-156588.
Yankova MS & Race CP (2025) Interaction of monoclinic ZrO2 grain boundaries with oxygen vacancies, Sn, and Nb: Implications for the corrosion of Zr alloy fuel cladding. Physical Review Materials, 9(7). View this article in WRRO
Barzdajn B & P Race C (2025) Optimal design of experiments in the context of machine-learning inter-atomic potentials: improving the efficiency and transferability of kernel based methods. Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, 33(2). View this article in WRRO
Barzdajn B & Race CP (2024) Molecular dynamics simulations of neutron induced collision cascades in Zr — Statistical modelling of irradiation damage and potential applications. Computational Materials Science, 245, 113315-113315.
Yildirim E, Mummery PM, Greaves G, Race CP & Jimenez-Melero E (2024) In-situ TEM characterization and atomistic simulation of cavity generation and interaction in tungsten at 800 °C under dual W2+/He+ irradiation. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 39, 101672-101672.
White MD, Nimmal Haribabu G, Thimukonda Jegadeesan J, Basu B, Withers PJ & Race CP (2024) Exploring descriptors for titanium microstructure via digital fingerprints from variational autoencoders. Computational Materials Science, 240, 112992-112992.
Ungár T, Ribárik G, Balogh L, Thomas R, Koc O, Preuss M, Race CP & Frankel P (2024) Fractional densities and character of dislocations in different slip modes from powder diffraction patterns. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 589, 154828-154828.
Warwick AR, Thomas R, Boleininger M, Koç Ö, Zilahi G, Ribárik G, Hegedues Z, Lienert U, Ungar T, Race C , Preuss M et al (2023) Dislocation density transients and saturation in irradiated zirconium. International Journal of Plasticity, 164, 103590-103590.
White MD, Tarakanov A, Withers PJ, Race CP & Law KJH (2023) Digital fingerprinting of microstructures. Computational Materials Science, 218, 111985-111985.
Yankova MS, Garner A, Baxter F, Armson S, Race CP, Preuss M & Frankel P (2023) Untangling competition between epitaxial strain and growth stress through examination of variations in local oxidation. Nature Communications, 14(1). View this article in WRRO
Garrett AM & Race CP (2022) Ab-initio calculations of substitutional co-segregation interactions at coherent bcc Fe-Cu interfaces. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 569, 153923-153923.
Plowman AJ & Race CP (2022) A first principles study of zirconium grain boundaries. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 568, 153853-153853.
Wilson BT, Robson JD, Shanthraj P & Race CP (2022) Simulating intergranular hydrogen enhanced decohesion in aluminium using density functional theory. Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, 30(3). View this article in WRRO
Maric M, Thomas R, Nunez-Iglesias J, Atkinson M, Bertsch J, Frankel P, Race C, Barberis P, Bourlier F, Preuss M & Shanthraj P (2022) A novel method for radial hydride analysis in zirconium alloys: HAPPy. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 559, 153442-153442.
Garrett AM & Race CP (2021) Segregation of Ni and Si to coherent bcc Fe-Cu interfaces from density functional theory. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 556, 153185-153185.
Barzdajn B, Garrett AM, Whiting TM & Race CP (2021) Development of data-driven spd tight-binding models of Fe—parameterisation based on QSGW and DFT calculations including information about higher-order elastic constants. Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, 29(8), 085006-085006.
Dorin T, Babaniaris S, Jiang L, Cassel A, Race CP, Eggeman A, Kelly DJ, Haigh SJ & Robson JD (2021) Stability and stoichiometry of L12 Al3(Sc,Zr) dispersoids in Al-(Si)-Sc-Zr alloys. Acta Materialia, 216, 117117-117117.
Ungár T, Frankel P, Ribárik G, Race CP & Preuss M (2021) Size-distribution of irradiation-induced dislocation-loops in materials used in the nuclear industry. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 550, 152945-152945.
Ungár T, Ribárik G, Topping M, Jones RMA, Dan Xu X, Hulse R, Harte A, Tichy G, Race CP, Frankel P & Preuss M (2021) Characterizing dislocation loops in irradiated polycrystalline Zr alloys by X-ray line profile analysis of powder diffraction patterns with satellites. Journal of Applied Crystallography, 54(3), 803-821.
Leteba GM, Wang Y-C, Slater TJA, Cai R, Byrne C, Race CP, Mitchell DRG, Levecque PBJ, Young NP, Holmes SM , Walton A et al (2021) Oleylamine Aging of PtNi Nanoparticles Giving Enhanced Functionality for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction. Nano Letters, 21(9), 3989-3996.
Adrych-Brunning A & Race CP (2021) The interaction of proton irradiation with Zr textured microstructure. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 547, 152808-152808.
Hulse R & Race CP (2021) An Atomistic Modelling Study of the Properties of Dislocation Loops in Zirconium. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 546, 152752-152752.
Garrett AM & Race CP (2021) Cu nanoprecipitate morphologies and interfacial energy densities in bcc Fe from density functional theory (DFT). Computational Materials Science, 188, 110149-110149.
Wilson BT, Robson JD & Race CP (2020) Modelling Hydrogen Embrittlement using Density Functional Theory: A theoretical approach to understanding environmentally assisted cracking in 7xxx series aluminium alloys. MATEC Web of Conferences, 326, 04006-04006.
Zhao H, Eggeman AS, Race CP & Derby B (2020) Geometrical constraints on the bending deformation of Penta-twinned silver nanowires. Acta Materialia, 185, 110-118.
Wang Y-C, Slater TJA, Leteba GM, Roseman AM, Race CP, Young NP, Kirkland AI, Lang CI & Haigh SJ (2019) Three-Dimensional Imaging of Nanoparticle Chemistry Using Spectroscopic Single Particle Reconstruction. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 25(S2), 400-401.
Race CP (2019) Atomistic simulations of grain boundary migration under recrystallisation conditions. Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, 27(6), 064002-064002.
Cassell AM, Robson JD, Race CP, Eggeman A, Hashimoto T & Besel M (2019) Dispersoid composition in zirconium containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu (AA7010) aluminium alloy. Acta Materialia, 169, 135-146.
Topping M, Harte A, Ungár T, Race CP, Dumbill S, Frankel P & Preuss M (2019) The effect of irradiation temperature on damage structures in proton-irradiated zirconium alloys. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 514, 358-367.
Wang Y-C, Slater TJA, Leteba GM, Roseman AM, Race CP, Young NP, Kirkland AI, Lang CI & Haigh SJ (2019) Imaging Three-Dimensional Elemental Inhomogeneity in Pt–Ni Nanoparticles Using Spectroscopic Single Particle Reconstruction. Nano Letters, 19(2), 732-738.
Gillen C, Garner A, Plowman A, Race CP, Lowe T, Jones C, Moore KL & Frankel P (2018) Advanced 3D characterisation of iodine induced stress corrosion cracks in zirconium alloys. Materials Characterization, 141, 348-361.
Topping M, Ungár T, Race CP, Harte A, Garner A, Baxter F, Dumbill S, Frankel P & Preuss M (2018) Investigating the thermal stability of irradiation-induced damage in a zirconium alloy with novel in situ techniques. Acta Materialia, 145, 255-263.
Adrych-Brunning A, Gilbert MR, Sublet J-C, Harte A & Race CP (2018) Modelling the interaction of primary irradiation damage and precipitates: Implications for experimental irradiation of zirconium alloys. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 498, 282-289.
Harte A, Jädernäs D, Topping M, Frankel P, Race CP, Romero J, Hallstadius L, Darby EC & Preuss M (2017) The effect of matrix chemistry on dislocation evolution in an irradiated Zr alloy. Acta Materialia, 130, 69-82.
Race CP (2015) Quantifying uncertainty in molecular dynamics simulations of grain boundary migration. Molecular Simulation, 41(13), 1069-1073.
Hafez Haghighat SM, von Pezold J, Race CP, Körmann F, Friák M, Neugebauer J & Raabe D (2014) Influence of the dislocation core on the glide of the ½〈111〉{110} edge dislocation in bcc-iron: An embedded atom method study. Computational Materials Science, 87, 274-282.
Race CP, Mason DR, Foo MHF, Foulkes WMC, Horsfield AP & Sutton AP (2013) Quantum–classical simulations of the electronic stopping force and charge on slow heavy channelling ions in metals. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 25(12), 125501-125501.
Race CP, Mason DR & Sutton AP (2012) A new directional model for the electronic frictional forces in molecular dynamics simulations of radiation damage in metals. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 425(1-3), 33-40.
Race CP, Mason DR, Finnis MW, Foulkes WMC, Horsfield AP & Sutton AP (2010) The treatment of electronic excitations in atomistic models of radiation damage in metals. Reports on Progress in Physics, 73(11), 116501-116501.
McEniry EJ, Wang Y, Dundas D, Todorov TN, Stella L, Miranda RP, Fisher AJ, Horsfield AP, Race CP, Mason DR , Foulkes WMC et al (2010) Modelling non-adiabatic processes using correlated electron-ion dynamics. The European Physical Journal B, 77(3), 305-329.
Race CP, Mason DR, Le Page J, Finnis MW, Foulkes WMC & Sutton AP (2009) Aiding the Design of Radiation Resistant Materials with Multiphysics Simulations of Damage Processes. MRS Proceedings, 1229.
Race CP, Mason DR & Sutton AP (2009) Electronic excitations and their effect on the interionic forces in simulations of radiation damage in metals. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 21(11), 115702-115702.
Horsfield AP, Finnis M, Foulkes M, LePage J, Mason D, Race C, Sutton AP, Bowler DR, Fisher AJ, Miranda R , Stella L et al (2008) Correlated electron-ion dynamics in metallic systems. Computational Materials Science, 44(1), 16-20.
Mason DR, le Page J, Race CP, Foulkes WMC, Finnis MW & Sutton AP (2007) Electronic damping of atomic dynamics in irradiation damage of metals. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 19(43), 436209-436209.
Rigby-Bell MTP, Natu V, Sokol M, Kelly DJ, Hopkinson DG, Zou Y, Bird JRT, Evitts LJ, Smith M, Race CP , Frankel P et al () Synthesis of new M-layer solid-solution 312 MAX phases (Ta_1−xTi_x)₃AlC₂ (x = 0.4, 0.62, 0.75, 0.91 or 0.95), and their corresponding MXenes. RSC Advances, 11(5), 3110-3114.
Cassell AM, Robson JD, Race C, Eggeman A, Hashimoto T & Besel M () Dispersoid Composition in Zirconium Containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu (Aa7010) Aluminium Alloy. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Hadian R, Grabowski B, Race CP & Neugebauer J () Atomistic migration mechanisms of atomically flat, stepped, and kinked grain boundaries. Physical Review B, 94(16).
Race CP, Hadian R, von Pezold J, Grabowski B & Neugebauer J () Mechanisms and kinetics of the migration of grain boundaries containing extended defects. Physical Review B, 92(17).
Race CP, von Pezold J & Neugebauer J () Role of the mesoscale in migration kinetics of flat grain boundaries. Physical Review B, 89(21).
Pei Z, Zhu L-F, Friák M, Sandlöbes S, von Pezold J, Sheng HW, Race CP, Zaefferer S, Svendsen B, Raabe D & Neugebauer J () Ab initioand atomistic study of generalized stacking fault energies in Mg and Mg–Y alloys. New Journal of Physics, 15(4), 043020-043020.
Mason DR, Race CP, Foo MHF, Horsfield AP, Foulkes WMC & Sutton AP () Resonant charging and stopping power of slow channelling atoms in a crystalline metal. New Journal of Physics, 14(7), 073009-073009.
Race CP, Mason DR & Sutton AP () An improved model of interatomic forces for large simulations of metals containing excited electrons. New Journal of Physics, 12(9), 093049-093049.
le Page J, Mason DR, Race CP & Foulkes WMC () How good is damped molecular dynamics as a method to simulate radiation damage in metals?. New Journal of Physics, 11(1), 013004-013004.

Book chapters

Sakaël C, Domain C, Ambard A, Race CP, Thuinet L & Legris A (2023) Breakaway Growth Modeling of Zirconium under Irradiation: The Importance of the Formation of <a>-Loop Layers, Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry: 20th International Symposium (pp. 495-519). ASTM International100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
Frankel P, Garner A, Plowman A, Hanlon SM, Gillen C, Phillion A, Race CP, Donoghue J, Anghel C, Ambard A & Daymond MR (2021) Toward a Mechanistic Understanding of Pellet Cladding Interaction Using Advanced 3D Characterization and Atomistic Simulation, Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry: 19th International Symposium (pp. 904-926). ASTM International100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
Armson SAJ, Garner A, Baxter F, Yankova MS, Race CP, Cole-Baker A, Riley C, Preuss M & Frankel P (2021) The Importance of Substrate Grain Orientation on Local Oxide Texture and Corrosion Performance in α-Zr Alloys, Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry: 19th International Symposium (pp. 878-903). ASTM International100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
Topping M, Harte A, Frankel P, Race C, Sundell G, Thuvander M, Andrén H-O, Jadernas D, Tejland P, Romero JE , Darby EC et al (2018) The Effect of Iron on Dislocation Evolution in Model and Commercial Zirconium Alloys, Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry: 18th International Symposium (pp. 796-822). ASTM International100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
Race C (2011) A Radiation Damage Cascade, Springer Theses (pp. 9-13). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) A Framework for Simulating Radiation Damage in Metals, Springer Theses (pp. 103-111). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race CP (2011) The Treatment of Electronic Excitations in Atomistic Simulations of Radiation Damage—A Brief Review, Springer Theses (pp. 15-66). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) Semi-classical Simulations of Collision Cascades, Springer Theses (pp. 133-152). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) The Electronic Drag Force, Springer Theses (pp. 223-245). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) The Single Oscillating Ion, Springer Theses (pp. 113-131). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) Channelling Ions, Springer Theses (pp. 189-222). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) Theoretical Background, Springer Theses (pp. 67-100). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race CP (2011) The Electronic Forces, Springer Theses (pp. 171-187). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) The Nature of the Electronic Excitations, Springer Theses (pp. 153-170). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) Introduction, Springer Theses (pp. 3-8). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) Concluding Remarks, Springer Theses (pp. 247-253). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Race C (2011) Appendices, Springer Theses (pp. 255-297). Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Conference proceedings

Sakaël C, Domain C, Ambard A, Race CP, Thuinet L & Legris A (2023) Breakaway Growth Modeling of Zirconium under Irradiation: The Importance of the Formation of -Loop Layers. ASTM Special Technical Publication, Vol. STP 1645 (pp 495-519)
Hadian S, Grabowski B, Race C & Neugebauer J (2015) Molecular dynamics study of the migration kinetics of asymmetric grain boundaries. Ptm 2015 Proceedings of the International Conference on Solid Solid Phase Transformations in Inorganic Materials 2015 (pp 775-776)
Mason DR, Race CP, Foulkes WMC, Finnis MW, Horsfield AP & Sutton AP (2011) Quantum mechanical simulations of electronic stopping in metals. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 269(14) (pp 1640-1645)
Race CP, Mason DR, Le Page J, Finnis MW, Foulkes WMC & Sutton AP (2010) Aiding the design of radiation resistant materials with multiphysics simulations of damage processes. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol. 1229 (pp 1-6)

Preprints

Barzdajn B & Race CP (2024) Optimal design of experiments in the context of machine-learning inter-atomic potentials: improving the efficiency and transferability of kernel based methods, arXiv.
Barzdajn B & Race CP (2024) Molecular dynamics simulations of neutron induced collision cascades in Zr - statistical modelling of irradiation damage and potential applications, arXiv.
Yankova MS & Race CP (2023) Interaction of monoclinic ZrO$_2$ grain boundaries with oxygen vacancies, Sn and Nb -- implications for the corrosion of Zr alloy fuel cladding, arXiv.
White MD, Tarakanov A, Race CP, Withers PJ & Law KJH (2022) Digital Fingerprinting of Microstructures, arXiv.
Race CP, Ungar T & Ribarik G (2022) Validation of x-ray line-profile analysis of extended defects in deformed crystals, arXiv.
Race CP, Ungar T & Ribarik G (2022) Validating x-ray line-profile defect analysis using atomistic models of deformed material, arXiv.
Leteba GM, Wang Y-C, Slater TJA, Cai R, Byrne C, Race CP, Mitchell DRG, Levecque PBJ, Young NP, Walton A , Kirkland AI et al (2021) Oleylamine aging of PtNi nanoparticles giving enhanced functionality for the oxygen reduction reaction, arXiv.
Yankova M, Garner A, Baxter F, Armson S, Race C, Preuss M & Frankel P (2021) Untangling competition between epitaxial strain and growth stress through examination of variations in local oxidation, Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
Barzdajn B, Garrett AM, Whiting TM & Race CP (2020) Development of data-driven spd tight-binding models of Fe -- parameterisation based on QSGW and DFT calculations including information about higher-order elastic constants, arXiv.
Plowman AJ & Race CP (2020) A First Principles Study of Zirconium Grain Boundaries, arXiv.
Hulse R & Race CP (2020) An Atomistic Modelling Study of the Properties of Dislocation Loops in Zirconium, arXiv.
Warwick AR, Thomas R, Boleininger M, Dudarev SL, Koc Ö, Zilahi G, Ribarik G, Hegedues Z, Lienert U, Race CP , Ungar T et al () Dislocation Density Transients and Saturation in Irradiated Zirconium.

Teaching activities: MAT4900/6900 Advanced Reactor Systems