I am deeply humbled and grateful to the American Chemical Society and the editors of ACS Materials Au for selecting me as part of the 2025 class of Rising Stars in Materials Science. This recognition came as a wonderful surprise, and I am truly thankful to be included alongside 13 other outstanding early-career researchers from around the world. None of this would have been possible without the support of my colleagues and collaborators at Montanuniversität Leoben, and I dedicate this honour to everyone in my team who has been part of this journey with me at [X-MAT].
As part of this special issue, I contributed a Perspective on the legacy and future of aluminium alloys in the context of space exploration and extraterrestrial settlement — a topic that sits at the heart of what we do: understanding how materials behave under the most extreme conditions imaginable, and designing the next generation of resilient materials for the challenges ahead. I hope this work can be a small but meaningful contribution to the broader materials science community. Thank you, ACS, for this recognition and for championing early-career researchers across the globe.
Read the editorial about the prize here:
Stephanie L. Brock, Maksym V. Kovalenko, and Mary Ann Meador. Announcing the 2025 Rising Stars in Materials Science ACS Materials Au. 2026 6 (2), 236-242 DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.6c00052
Read my perspective review here:
M.A. Tunes. The Legacy and Future of Aluminum Alloys: Space Exploration and Extraterrestrial Settlement. ACS Materials Au 2026 6 (1), 1-27 DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.5c00139
Materials at Extremes 