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9th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy 2026
Jointly organised by
This research symposium is for students, academics, researchers and industry involved in materials, metals and process improvement. The symposium gives universities, researchers and businesses the opportunity to find out about the latest thinking on ferrous metallurgy.
At the symposium PhD and EngD students will showcase their research with particular emphasis on the ferrous sector. Along with this will be keynote presentations from industry leaders, and an exhibition and poster display.
Date: Tuesday 24th February 2026
Time: 9:00am - 6:30pm
Location: Armourers’ Hall, Armourers & Brasiers’ Company, 81 Coleman Street, London EC2R 5BJ
A research symposium organised by the Materials Processing Institute and supported by the Armourers & Brasiers’ Company and the Iron & Steel Society of IOM3.
The aim of the symposium is to:
Allow PhD researchers and university departments from across the UK to showcase their research.
Inspire academics and research students to engage in the research challenges of the steel industry.
Enable industry colleagues and academics to form strong and lasting networks.
Applications are welcomed from PhD/EngDoc students to present their research or be included as part of the poster display at the Symposium.
Who should attend
The symposium is open to students, academics and industry and is particularly relevant to students planning to, or currently working on a PhD, as well as university academics, researchers and industries involved in materials, metals and process improvement.
This research symposium gives PhD/EngDoc students, academics, industrial researchers and industry leaders the opportunity to showcase their research, attend presentations about specific research, find out about support available and network with one another.
Register to Attend
Click on the following button to access the symposium Eventbrite registration page.
Presentation and Poster Opportunities
Applications are welcomed from PhD and EngDoc students to present their research or be included as part of the poster display at the 2026 Symposium.
Applications for presentations and poster displays can be made by completing the application form.
Closing date for applications – Monday 8th December 2026.
Presentation Application Poster Application
Prizes for Presentations
| Best Presentation | £300 |
| Runner up Presentation | £150 |
| Best Poster | £150 |
Symposium Programme
The programme below is for the 2026 symposium which was held in February. This programme is representative of the format that the 2026 Symposium programme will follow. Applications to speak and to display a poster are now open and this programme will be updated later in the year when the presentations and speakers are confirmed.
09:00 – 10:00 Registration, Poster Display, Exhibition and Networking
10:00 – 10:10 Welcome and Introduction
Terry Walsh, CEO, Materials Processing Institute
10:10 – 11:10 Session 1 – Theme – Product Development
Session Chair: Gill Thornton, Globus Metal Powders Ltd
Presentation 1 - Exploration of using ferrous alloys as radiation damage resistant materials for fusion
Presenter: Sophie Barwick (University of Sheffield)
Presentation 2 - 3D lattice strain quantification in neutron irradiated steels for fusion energy
Presenter: Lucy Fitzgerald (University of Birmingham)
Presentation 3 - Low activation bainite steel: design and microstructure
Presenter: Pengxin Wang (University of Leicester)
11:10 – 11:30 First Perambulation
Poster Display, Exhibition and Networking
11:30 – 12:30 Session 2 – Theme – Process Improvement
Session Chair: Professor Hongbiao Dong, University of Leicester
Presentation 4 - Effects of cold-wire gas metal arc welding (CW-GMAW) process variables on energy input and deposition rate during repair of S275JR structural steel
Presenter: Zahraddeen Musa (Cranfield University)
Presentation 5 - The impact of high recycled content on high formability products
Presenter: Freya Hamblin (Swansea University)
Presentation 6 - Ferrite grain size control via two-stage cooling for structural steel tubes
Presenter: Nathan Dixon (University of Warwick)
12:30 – 13:00 Bessemer Lecture – Designing steel for a sustainable low carbon future
Presenter: Professor Mark Rainforth, awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal for 2024
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break
Poster Display, Exhibition and Networking
14:00 – 15:20 Session 3 – Theme – Structure Measurement and Property Prediction
Session Chair: Dr Richard Thackray, University of Sheffield
Presentation 7 - Correlation between electrical resistivity, ultrasonic measurements and microstructural changes in SS316 under high-cycle fatigue
Presenter: Maryam Izadi (Brunel University)
Presentation 8 - Preliminary galling data on DS11C using Imperial testing rig
Presenter: (Dominic) Chi Hang Kwok (Imperial College London)
Presentation 9 - A computational approach towards proactive scale management for steel pipelines
Presenter: Megan Kendall (Swansea University)
Presentation 10 - Influence of iron oxide corrosion on hydrogen uptake and susceptibility to embrittlement in pipeline steels
Presenter: Anthony Reilly (University of Strathclyde)
15:20 – 15:50 Second Perambulation
Poster Display, Exhibition and Networking
15:50 – 16:30 Keynote Speaker – Dr David Bowden CEng CSci
Presentation Title - Increasing the heat: Developing next-generation high-temperature steels to deliver commercial fusion energy
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Materials Science and Engineering - Group Leader,
Materials Division
16:30 – 17:00 Awarding of Prizes by the Armourers & Brasiers’ Materials Science Committee
1. Millman Scholarship
2. Ashok Kumar Fellowship
3. Poster Winner
4. Presentation Runner-up
5. Presentation Winner
17:00 – 18:30 Symposium Ends and Drinks Reception
Sponsored by
Main Sponsor
