Following recent conversations with friends and colleagues, Prof. Cláudio G. Schön, Prof. Ernst Kozeschnik and Dr. Johannes Österreicher, I have come to the conclusion that we should be more optimistic about the future of mankind, and of science, and physics in particular. This holds even when we take into account the geopolitical challenges of the … Continue reading Why I Remain Optimistic About the Future of Mankind
For decades, aluminium alloys forced a choice: the 5xxx family is easy to form but only moderately strong, while the 7xxx family is strong but difficult to process. The crossover concept, developed at Montanuniversität Leoben by the research group of Prof. Stefan Pogatscher, removes that trade-off. A tuned combination of magnesium, zinc and, in some … Continue reading Built for cars, but ready for space: A warm welcome to AMAG CrossAlloy®57!
Ultrafine-grained (UFG) aluminium alloys are strong candidates for space structures: their dense grain-boundary network acts as sinks that absorb radiation-induced defects (more in our perspective review https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmaterialsau.5c00139). But that advantage only survives if the microstructure does — and in Low-Earth Orbit, sunlit components reach ~200 °C, right where severely deformed aluminium begins to recrystallise. The … Continue reading One-grain-at-a-time: how in situ EBSD rewrote sink-strength theory for space aluminium
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 … Continue reading Grateful to be among the 2025 Rising Stars in Materials Science
What will the materials powering tomorrow's clean energy systems, quantum computers, and deep-space missions actually be made of — and how do we design them? We are thrilled to share our latest featured article in The European magazine, where we explore how cutting-edge research is engineering matter at the atomic scale. From the nanolaminated MAX … Continue reading Atom-by-atom materials shaping future technology
On October 1, 2024, Sandra Gonzaga, our Master Student, reached an impressive milestone in her academic journey, successfully defending her Master's thesis with the highest grade of “Sehr gut” (1). Her remarkable research has broken new ground in the study of aluminium alloys within the Al–Mg–Si system, designed specifically for space applications. Prof. Pogatscher, Sandra, … Continue reading Celebrating Sandra’s Successful Master’s Thesis Defense
Screenshots on the reception of our work in press on several languages!
