Themes

Organised into six main themes, our research covers the processing, properties and application of materials. We are ranked top five in the UK for research excellence and top ten for research output in materials science.
Firth Court Rotunda with REF 2014 graphics
Tissue engineering scaffolds provide temporary mechanical support to the cells.

Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering

Understanding how materials interact with the human body and what we can do to develop new materials to improve quality of life.

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Nuclear Glass

Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear energy provides over a third of the world’s low-carbon electricity - we research how to generate power this way safely, securely and sustainably.

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Inconel Nanoparticles

Nanomaterials and Nanoengineering

Understanding nanoscale materials and device performance, bridging the fields of advanced characterisation, sub-nanometre microscopy, nanomanipulation, and atomistic modelling.

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Capacitors with mobile phone motherboard

Functional Materials and Devices

By understanding how functional materials form and behave, we can research ways of processing them to influence their properties and how they can be applied.
Our research covers all classes of materials: metals, ceramics, polymers and organic materials, and properties such as magnetism, piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity and liquid crystals.

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Building with different materials

Advanced Structural Materials

Structural materials are those used primarily for their mechanical properties - our research involves the main classes of materials: metals, ceramics, polymers and composites, as well as sustainable construction materials.

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Model of layers of lead iodide

Multiscale Materials Modelling

Computer modelling and simulation methods allow us to study and predict material formation, structures, properties and performance from the nano-scale to the macro scale.

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