Dr Kathy Christofidou
PhD, MEng, MBA
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Royce Technology Platform Lead (Materials Discovery & Prototyping) & Lecturer in Metallurgy

Full contact details
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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Kathy (Katerina) Christofidou joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2019 as a Lecturer in Metallurgy. Since joining the Department, Kathy has also been appointed the Technology Platform Lead for Materials Discovery and Prototyping for Royce at the University of Sheffield, a Partner of the Henry Royce Institute.
Prior to this, she held roles at The University of Cambridge, as part of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre, and The University of Manchester, where she also worked in close collaboration with the Henry Royce Institute.
She holds a PhD in Metallurgy from The University of Cambridge and an MEng in Aerospace Materials Engineering from Imperial College London.
- Research interests
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Kathy's research focuses on multiple facets of high-temperature physical metallurgy, alloy design and manufacturing.
As part of her collaboration with Rolls-Royce PLC, she has developed new polycrystalline Ni-based superalloys for turbine disc applications, as well as exploring strategies for the design of high-temperature materials amenable to laser-based additive layer manufacturing.
In addition, a major area of her research interests is that of high entropy alloys and the possibilities that these materials offer for expanding our understanding of physical metallurgy beyond a single base element and the associated thermodynamic principles governing this behaviour.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Bending bad—testing caramel wafer bars (#TestATunnocks). Physics Education, 56(5), 055002-055002.
- The influence of Fe variations on the phase stability of CrMnFe
x CoNi alloys following long-duration exposures at intermediate temperatures. Intermetallics, 131. - On the continuous and discontinuous precipitation of the L12 phase in Cu-Ni-Al alloys. Materialia.
- The effect of heat treatment on the oxidation resistance of cobalt-based superalloys. Metals, 10(2). View this article in WRRO
- Elucidating the microstructural development of refractory metal high entropy superalloys via the Ti–Ta–Zr constituent system. Journal of Alloys and Compounds. View this article in WRRO
- Effect of Co on the phase stability of CrMnFeCoxNi high entropy alloys following long-duration exposures at intermediate temperatures. Intermetallics, 114. View this article in WRRO
- On the design and feasibility of tantalum-base superalloys. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 804, 314-321. View this article in WRRO
Conference proceedings papers
- Developing alloy compositions for future high temperature disk rotors. Superalloys 2020 : Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Superalloys (pp 19-30). Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, USA, 12 September 2021 - 16 September 2021.
- Microstructural control and optimization of Haynes 282 manufactured through laser powder bed fusion. Superalloys 2020 : Proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Superalloys (pp 1014-1023) View this article in WRRO
- Bending bad—testing caramel wafer bars (#TestATunnocks). Physics Education, 56(5), 055002-055002.
- Professional activities
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- Member of the IoM3 Materials Chemistry Committee
- Member of the TMS High Temperature Alloys Committee
- Recipient of funding allocation from the Women in Engineering Visitor Funding Scheme at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- 2019 Materials travel award