Complex Interfaces and Solid-State Precipitation in Advanced Materials

Solid-state precipitates are key features of the microstructures of many natural and artificial materials and
govern their properties. Yet understanding, let alone designing, the microstructures of materials remains a
formidable challenge. The recent discovery of a new class of embedded interfaces in aluminium alloys offers
the prospect of determining the atomic-scale mechanisms of precipitation. In this project we will apply the
latest microscopy and computational techniques synergistically to characterise such interfaces and develop
atomic-scale mechanisms of nucleation and growth in model alloy systems. This work will constitute a major
step towards practical control of solid-state precipitation in technologically important materials.