Andrew Johnston

New members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team – October 2024

Every month, we welcome new members of the IMDEA Materials team. Here, you can find a short profile of our most recent additions, including their upcoming role with IMDEA Materials and their educational and professional background. My name is Valerio Lampitella, I am from Naples, Italy. I

Searching for the perfect alloy – System Failure (RNE)

The program System Failure on Radio 3, RNE, has interviewed our director, Prof. José Manuel Torralba, about how artificial intelligence can be used to develop more efficient and sustainable alloys, thereby revolutionizing the world of materials. You can listen to the complete interview, here.

Why Elon Musk uses stainless steel for his new spacecraft

José Manuel Torralba, IMDEA MATERIALES In a recent recorded conversation between Adam Burrows, an astrophysics professor at Princeton, and Elon Musk, Burrows expressed surprise at SpaceX's choice to use stainless steel for the Starship spacecraft. Instead of opting for more “aerospace”

‘Exceptional results’: DELIGHTED praised for delivering significant advances in the production of lightweight, high-strength steel alloys

THE IMDEA Materials-coordinated DELIGHTED project has been praised for delivering “exceptional results” in its successful efforts to develop Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) for lightweight vehicle applications. The comments were contained within the European Commission’s (EC) final report on

What’s Going on with Transparent Dental Aligners?

José Ignacio Delgado Castaño, IMDEA MATERIALS Transparent aligners have been the leading demand in orthodontics over the past decades. They do not compromise aesthetics, are more comfortable than traditional dental braces, and allow for better oral hygiene. Moreover, they are much less

Dr. Mónica Echeverry, First Junior PI at IMDEA Materials

IMDEA Materials Institute has taken a significant step in its commitment to innovation and the scientific development of young researchers by launching its new Junior Principal Investigator (Junior PI) program. This program enables postdoctoral researchers who have obtained competitive talent

Will they sell cheap diamonds in Tiffany’s? – ABC.es

Spanish news outlet ABC.es has republished IMDEA Materials Institute Director, Prof. José Manuel Torralba's recent article in The Conversation Spain about a new, cheaper and more sustainable way to manufacture artificial diamonds. You can read the original article at ABC.es, here (content in

We will see cheap diamonds in Tiffany’s

José Manuel Torralba, IMDEA MATERIALS A diamond awakens a world of suggestions that can lead us, depending on our age, to a cabaret in Paris where Marilyn Monroe declares to the world that they are "a girl's best friend" (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Howard Hawks, 1953); to New York's Fifth Avenue,

New members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team – June 2024

Every month, we welcome new members of the IMDEA Materials team. Here, you can find a short profile of our most recent additions, including their upcoming role with IMDEA Materials and their educational and professional background. My name is Jesús Jiménez and I am from Ávila (Spain). My

Materials science in focus in IMDEA Materials’ 13th annual imaging contest

IMDEA Materials Institute recently celebrated its 13th annual imaging contest featuring images related to materials characterisation and processing, simulation and the institute's everyday activities. The most competitive category was "Materials Characterisation", which this year was won by

The Congress that almost wasn’t and ended in success

Organisers of the 19th European Mechanics of Materials Conference (EMMC19) have heralded its success in putting IMDEA Materials Institute on the map in the mechanics of materials field. The event, held last week over three days at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), was organised by IMDEA

Seminar of Prof. Mengying Liu from Washington and Lee University in the US, entitled “In situ investigation of hydrogen-assisted crack initiation in nickel-based alloy 725”. On May 27th, 2024, at noon in the seminar room.

Abstract: When metals are exposed to hydrogen (H)-rich environments, they may lose ductility and fail catastrophically without showing any sign of damage. This problem is known as hydrogen embrittlement (HE). Over the last few decades, extensive research on HE has shown that hydrogen-assisted

IMDEA Materials welcomes visit from Málaga’s Sierra Blanca

Yesterday, IMDEA Materials Institute received a visit from 12 students from the Sierra Blanca School in Malaga. During their visit they were able to hear the experiences of Estela Izquierdo, Project Management Assistant, and Dr. Mónica Echeverry, Senior Postdoctoral Researcher, about scientific

IMDEA Materials Institute welcomes visit from IES Las Rozas 1

Yesterday, IMDEA Materials welcomed a visit from 30 students from IES Las Rozas 1.The students were given a chance to check out the Institute's facilities, and were guided on their tour by a number of our researchers, including Marcors Rodriguez Sánchez, Alba Pascual and Miguel Hernández del Valle.

IMDEA Materials Institute opens hosting offers for 2024 MSCA PF call

IMDEA Materials Institute is seeking postdoctoral researchers for call 2024 of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship (PF) programme (deadline 11/09/2024). Our Institute has a long track record of hosting MSCA fellows (around 30 fellows hosted in total, with 8 more set

Radiation, the invisible threat to the colonisation of Mars

Jesús Ordoño Fernández, IMDEA MATERIALES The exploration of the red planet faces numerous challenges, from the effects of microgravity to space fungi and one of the most dangerous: radiation. The latter mainly comes from two sources: the Sun (and its solar storms) and outer space, distant

3rd edition of the Short Thesis Talk of IMDEA Materials

Earlier this week, IMDEA Materials Institute celebrated our annual “4 Minute Thesis Talk” (4MT) (previously “3 Minute Thesis”). This event is designed to give our predoctoral researchers the opportunity to present their research projects to a general audience in just four minutes. Through this, the

How High-Entropy Alloys could help shape tomorrow’s energy landscape

In the quest for greener energy solutions, hydrogen-based technologies have emerged as strong contenders. However, one of the challenges lies in efficient hydrogen storage as traditional austenitic steels, commonly used for hydrogen vessels, suffer from embrittlement during storage. With the aim

New members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team – March 2024

Every month, we welcome new members of the IMDEA Materials team. Here, you can find a short profile of our most recent additions, including their upcoming role with IMDEA Materials and their educational and professional background. My name is Muhammad Mehdi, and I am from Pakistan. My academic

IMDEA Materials triumphs in the Madrid Science Fair 2024

For the fourth consecutive year, IMDEA Materials Institute has participated in the Madrid Es Ciencia Fair, the largest annual science outreach event in the Community of Madrid. Nearly 20 researchers, representing all areas of research conducted by the Institute, from advances in medical devices

PhD Defense of Eugenia Nieto-Valeiras, entitled “Effect of grain boundaries on the deformation and fracture of metallic polycrystals”- On Friday, February 16th at 11am

The PhD defence will take place in the José Echegaray room of the E.T.S de Ingenieros de Caminios (C/Profesor Aranguren 3), 28040 Madrid. The dissertation is titled "Effect of grain boundaries on the deformation and fracture of metallic polycrystals". It has been advised by Prof. Javier LLorca

DELIGHTED consortium celebrated final meeting

On February 6, 2024, the DELIGHTED consortium held its final meeting. The partners presented and discussed the latest results from the characterization of the developed steel grades within the framework of the DELIGHTED project. A manufactured prototype of a vineyard tractor cabin, ready for

25 years of experiments in the International Space Station – RTVE

IMDEA Materials Institute researcher, Dr. Jesús Ordoño, has been interviewed on the nature of scientific experiments being carried out in space, marking the 25th anniversary of the International Space Station (ISS). The interview was recorded during the programme Longitud de Onda, on the Radio

New members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team – October, 2023

Every month, we welcome new members of the IMDEA Materials team. Here, you can find a short profile of our most recent additions, including their upcoming role with IMDEA Materials and their educational and professional background. My name is Juan Guillermo Santos Macías. I am from Spain. I

What is the most used material in the world and the least researched?

José Manuel Torralba, IMDEA MATERIALES We live in a world of steel. It's so common that we use it as a metaphor for everyday life. Some people have nerves of steel, and the biceps of many muscular young individuals are made of ship steel. What is not a metaphor is that steel is everywhere we

“The possibility of seeing what no one has seen before in what everyone has already looked at”: Prof. Javier LLorca is awarded the National Research Prize in Engineering and Architecture

The possibility of seeing what no one has seen before in what everyone has already looked at. That is a large part of what drives Prof. Javier LLorca to continue his pioneering work after nearly four decades among the best in Spanish science and research. Scientific Director of IMDEA Materials

Do we have enough materials for the energy transition to be truly possible?

José Manuel Torralba, IMDEA MATERIALS y Miguel Ángel Rodiel, IMDEA Replacing fossil fuels brings with it challenges and side effects that must be considered by all parties involved in Europe's energy transition, vital to our future. To begin with, however, we must ask one seemingly obvious, but

DELIGHTED project’s latest results presented

The DELIGHTED consortium continues to disseminate the project results. Andrea Gómez Fernandez from IMDEA Materiales gave a talk about the effect of aging on microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe-30Mn-9Al-1C steel on macro- and microscales at EUROMAT 2023 Congress in Frankfurt am Main,

IMDEA Materials researchers showcase BIOMET4D at Biometal 2023

IMDEA Materials and BIOMET4D researchers Blanca Limones and Muzi Li have this week been taking part in the 15th International Symposium on Biodegradable Metals, Biometal 2023.The conference, being held in Cetraro, Italy, has featured a number of sessions, round tables and

New members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team – July, 2023

Every month, we welcome new members of the IMDEA Materials team. Here, you can find a short profile of our most recent additions, including their upcoming role with IMDEA Materials and their educational and professional background. My name is Sergio Peña Camacho and I am from Madrid. I

Silence in the City: The New Wave of Topological Materials

Dr. Johan Christensen, IMDEA Materials Institute Imagine being on your way to a well-deserved summer vacation when suddenly you collide with another vehicle. Fortunately, the chassis of your car deforms in a controlled and programmed manner upon impact, creating a safe zone for the occupants to

New members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team – June, 2023

Every month, we welcome new members of the IMDEA Materials team. Here, you can find a short profile of our most recent additions, including their upcoming role with IMDEA Materials and their educational and professional background. My name is Phuong Thúy Vo, and I am from Vietnam. I completed my

Dr. Nourhan Hassan presents BIOMET4D at Africa Health ExCon 2023

BIOMET4D researcher Nourhan Hassan from the University Hospital Cologne presents a poster entitled “Smart 4D BIOdegradable METallic Shape-shifting Implants for Dynamic Tissue Resoration” at Africa Health ExCon2023.  As part of the conference, Dr. Hassan presented a poster entitled

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) PFs Call 2023 informative webinar

IMDEA Materials Institute researchers, Prof. Javier Segurado and Dr. Carlos Ruestes, have participated in an informative webinar about the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships Call 2023. The webinar is aimed at potential applicants for this year's call, with more than

IMDEA Materials Institute hosts final MAT4.0-CM Meeting as project wraps up

IMDEA Materials Institute today hosted the final meeting of MAT4.0-CM, a project designed to advance intelligent manufacturing of advanced materials for energy, transport and health. MAT4.0-CM is coordinated by IMDEA Materials and aims to promote the additive manufacturing of metallic materials

IMDEA Materials Institute celebrates its 12th Annual Imaging Contest

IMDEA Materials Institute has today celebrated the presentation of awards to finalise the 12th Annual Imaging Contest. This year's competition was dominated by the Materials Characterisation category, which contributed the majority of entries, ahead of Open Subject and Materials Simulation.

New members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team – February 2023

Every month, we welcome new members of the IMDEA Materials Institute team. Here, you can find a short profile of our most recent additions, including their upcoming role with IMDEA Materials and their educational and professional background. Hello, I am José Ignacio Delgado, I’m from Torrejón,