Physical Metallurgy
Dr. Teresa Pérez Prado joined IMDEA Materials as Senior Researcher on September 1, 2008. She also heads the Research Program on Alloy Design, Processing and Development. Dr. Pérez-Prado was born in Asturias, Spain. She completed an MSc in Physics at the Complutense University in Madrid (UCM) in 1994. After a brief stay at Chemnitz University, Germany, she joined the National Center for Metals Research (CENIM, CSIC) in Madrid, Spain, where she carried out her dissertation on the Study of the Deformation Mechanisms of Superplastic Aluminum Alloys by Texture Analysis. In 1998 she got a PhD degree in Physics from UCM. Part of her doctoral research was carried out at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
In 1998 Dr. Pérez Prado joined the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) as a Postgraduate Research Engineer, working on the measurement of residual stresses by convergent beam electron microscopy (CBED) and on the microtexture characterization of materials deformed at high strain rate. She was also hired as a consultant at Oregon State University. In 2001 she returned to CENIM, Madrid, where she worked as a Ramón y Cajal fellow on the processing and physical metallurgy of novel Mg alloys for light transportation. She was granted a Tenured Scientist position in 2004.
Dr. Pérez-Prado´s current research interests involve applied and fundamental work on the processing, characterization and mechanical behavior of advanced metallic materials for automotive, energy and biomedical applications. She has coauthored 1 book and 110 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and 1 book (Elsevier, 2004). Her h factor is 34 (Source: Scopus). She has led 17 R&D projects and has supervised 7 PhD thesis. She was a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2006. Dr. Pérez-Prado completed an MBA at Insead, France, in 2008, where her team project, a spin-off company based on technology developed at Caltech and the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded the 1st prize at the Business Venture Competition.
In 1998 Dr. Pérez Prado joined the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) as a Postgraduate Research Engineer, working on the measurement of residual stresses by convergent beam electron microscopy (CBED) and on the microtexture characterization of materials deformed at high strain rate. She was also hired as a consultant at Oregon State University. In 2001 she returned to CENIM, Madrid, where she worked as a Ramón y Cajal fellow on the processing and physical metallurgy of novel Mg alloys for light transportation. She was granted a Tenured Scientist position in 2004.
Dr. Pérez-Prado´s current research interests involve applied and fundamental work on the processing, characterization and mechanical behavior of advanced metallic materials for automotive, energy and biomedical applications. She has coauthored 1 book and 110 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and 1 book (Elsevier, 2004). Her h factor is 34 (Source: Scopus). She has led 17 R&D projects and has supervised 7 PhD thesis. She was a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2006. Dr. Pérez-Prado completed an MBA at Insead, France, in 2008, where her team project, a spin-off company based on technology developed at Caltech and the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded the 1st prize at the Business Venture Competition.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Pérez-Prado´s expertise consists on linking the composition, processing, microstructure, and properties of metals to optimize alloy design for advanced manufacturing, sustainable transport, energy and biomedical applications. As experimental physical metallurgist, she has greatly focused on the influence of texture and grain boundaries on the microscopic deformation mechanisms. Dr. Pérez-Prado´s research is supported by solid long term collaborations with experts on simulation at all length scales, on micro and nanomechanics, on magnetism, and on advanced manufacturing.
ACADEMIC CAREER
- 2017- Deputy Director, IMDEA Materials Institute.
- 2008- Senior Researcher and Group Leader, Physical Metallurgy, IMDEA Materials Institute.
- 1994 BSc Physics, Complutense University, Madrid
- 1998 PhD Materials Science, Complutense University, Madrid
- 1998-2000 Research Associate, University of California, San Diego, USA
- 2008 MBA, INSEAD, France/Singapore
- 2004-2007 Visiting Research Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, LA, USA
HONORS AND AWARDS
- 2009 PI3 fellowship (€130K) of the Madrid Regional Government, Spain.
- 2008 Lister-Vickery Trophy, 1st Prize winner of the 16th INSEAD Comitel Business Venture Competition (Solitonik), France.
- 2007 Caja Madrid fellowship (€62K/1 year) of the Caja Madrid Foundation, Spain.
- 2006 Visiting scholar (Marina Bueno grant, CSIC) at the Max Planck Institute, Stuttgart, Germany.
- 2001-2004 “Ramón y Cajal Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science”
- 1996-1998 Visiting scholar, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA.
- 1994 FPI PhD fellowship, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (4 year grant).
- 1994 Visiting scholar (IAESTE fellowship), University of Chemnitz, Germany.
- 1993 “Introduction to research” fellowship, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.
- 1992 Award to academic excellence, Faculty of Physics, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain.
COMMITTEES AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- 2018 – Program Manager of Structural Materials, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain.
- 2018 – Member of the Scientific Board of NOMATEN Center of Excelence
- 2018 – Member of the Scientific Board of IRT Jules Verne
- 2017 – Board member of SOCIEMAT (Spanish Society for Materials)
