Developments in materials engineering are such that a capacity to ‘pick and place’ individual atoms to precise locations in a 3D structure is evolving from ‘nice to have’, towards ‘must have’. Microscopy must respond to this challenge to remain as a key tool for process design, phenomenological insights, and metrology. A scientific and technological roadmap for meeting this challenge is put forward in the form of Atomic-Scale Analytical Tomography. The potential to transform our ability to design materials and processes via a coupling between computation and experiments at the atomic-scale will be discussed.
Besides this look forward, the lecture will summarise the art of the possible today, featuring recent developments on the measurement of short-range order in multicomponent materials via atom probe, and a microscopy-guided design of a new class of titanium alloys enabled by additive manufacturing. Finally, the presentation will summarise collaboration possibilities with Sydney under the various AUKUS pillars, leveraging common interests in the enabling infrastructure for advanced manufacturing, nanofabrication and advanced microscopy.
Short biography:
Simon Ringer is a materials engineer, specialising in the relationships between the microstructure of materials and their engineering performance.
His research focuses on understanding materials from the atomic-scale to gain insights for the design of materials, and the processes by which they are made. His work spans the development of structural alloys, semiconductors and functional materials. He is an expert in microscopy and computational materials simulations, and several examples of his fundamental research have been translated to industrial practice. He has held appointments in Australia, Sweden, Japan and the USA, led the establishment of a number of major research institutes and facilities, and has a global academic and industrial network. He is Professor of Materials Engineering at the University of Sydney and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure), where he is responsible for the strategy, policy, operations, space management and partnerships related to research infrastructure. He was elected as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering in 2020.
