2025 Young Persons' Lecture Competition UK final

Scotland

Hamish Dow

Dr Hamish Dow is a Research Associate at the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research investigates novel AI-based imaging methods for detecting and quantifying concrete structure defects. Hamish's lecture will explain how AI can be used for visual inspections, highlight innovative concrete inspection methods developed at the University of Strathclyde, and present real-world, Strathclyde-led, case studies demonstrating AI-driven inspection applications.

Lights, camera, action: Automated visual inspections of concrete structures

Early identification of defects in concrete structures is vital to ensuring their longevity and resilience. However, traditional visual inspections are expensive, inconsistent, labour-intensive, and dangerous.

Our invention, Adaptive Lighting for the Inspection of Concrete Structures (ALICS), is a new inspection platform: it is an automated, and robot-mountable concrete visual inspection device that uses lighting and artificial intelligence to detect, classify, quantify, and monitor concrete defects with unprecedented speed, accuracy, and precision.

ALICS’s lighting-enhanced inspection method enables fast, targeted concrete defect repair and monitoring of concrete infrastructure, extending asset lifespans and reducing carbon-intensive new-build construction.
This presentation will showcase ALICS’s lighting-enhanced inspection method and concrete defect detection abilities. Results from on-site deployment will also be presented, validating ALICS’s methods in a real-world environment.

North West & North Wales

Sethupathi Rangaraj

Sethupathi is a second-year PhD student and a Dean’s Doctoral Scholar in Materials Science (Imaging and Characterization) at the University of Manchester. His research focuses on understanding the failure mechanisms of additively manufactured alloys (AlSi10Mg) using advanced characterization techniques such as 3D Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT). He is also driving his research toward real-world impact by collaborating with industries to maximize the value of his PhD.

Apart from research, he is passionate about science communication and outreach. As a Discover Materials Ambassador, he engages with young students through inspiring workshops and hands-on experiments to promote awareness and excitement about materials science. In his free time, he enjoys archery, bouldering, and cooking.

Why can additively manufactured materials fail differently in different directions? Investigating the role of defects

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers enhanced control over material properties and design flexibility, with Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) enabling the creation of alloys with finely tuned characteristics and minimal material waste. This approach is more sustainable than traditional manufacturing, reducing material consumption and emissions. However, LPBF is prone to defects like lack of fusion and porosity, which can negatively impact mechanical performance. These defects vary in orientation, affecting material behaviour.

Understanding how defect orientation affects mechanical properties is key to improving AM reliability. X-ray CT (Computed Tomography) offers detailed insights into the structure and distribution of defects. This study investigates how defect orientation in LPBF alloys influences mechanical failure, using X-ray CT to assess defect impact. The findings aim to optimize parameters, enhance material quality, and contribute to more reliable and sustainable AM technologies.

South West & South Wales

Samual Ngombe

Samual is a third-year EngD student at Swansea University, working on scaling up the commercial potential of next-generation perovskite solar cells. His presentation focuses on a game-changing solar technology developed by Power Roll, exploring how it works, why it matters and the powerful role solar energy can play in addressing our global energy challenges. With the world striving to meet Net Zero goals, Samual is determined to contribute to real-world solutions.

Aside from his research (which often means spending quality time in a cleanroom suit and hair net), Samual has done his fair share of American Football (both playing and coaching). He is a huge advocate for sustainable living and believe that access to clean energy should be universal, no matter the circumstances. Hopefully, he can not only share some insights but also alter your perspective on solar energy, showing how something as small as micro groove can have a big effect on the global democratisation of energy.

From grooves to grid: The next generation of solar technology

Power Roll has pioneered a fully R2R production process based on their novel architecture. This involves embossing microgrooves onto a flexible substrate, followed by directional deposition of electrodes and charge transport layers on opposite faces of each groove. R2R perovskite deposition and encapsulation finish the PV modules in a highly scalable low-cost manufacturing process.

Midlands

Amelia Tortell Milhano

Amelia is a Materials Scientist at 4D Medicine Ltd., a startup based at MediCity in Nottingham, where she has worked since graduating with an MEng from the University of Oxford. Her role involves preparing and characterising degradable polymer systems, and 3D printing these materials into a range of commercial medical devices. Amelia grew up in Switzerland and is a dual citizen of Portugal and New Zealand but has found her home in the East Midlands.

Delving into the 4th dimension: 3D printing resorbable polymers for regenerative medicine

In recent years, advancements in additive manufacturing (AM) have unearthed 3D printing as a manufacturing process in its own right. Its inherent design freedom allows for the creation of customisable, complex, small-scale geometries. Innovation in materials chemistry has led to the synthesis of new bioresorbable polymers. The advantages of resorbable medical materials are vast, and their development promises endless novel device concepts.

AM has long been used to produce inorganic medical devices. However, it is not until recently that successful 3D printing of organic, biodegradable materials for medical devices has been accomplished. At 4D Medicine, Digital Light Processing, is used to 3D print a range of devices from a biodegradable resin with tuneable mechanical properties.

In this talk, I will explore the motivation behind combining these two emerging technologies, the materials challenges unearthed in doing so, and the opportunities that this creates for the healthcare industry.

South East

Emma Bryan

Emma is a PhD student in the Materials department at Imperial College London, researching molecular semiconductors. These materials are enabling advances in the field of organic electronics, from more flexible, lightweight and wearable devices to brighter, more energy efficient displays and solar cells. Her PhD focuses on the characterisation of these next-generation materials, understanding their structure and conductive properties, particularly using scanning probe methods which is the subject of her presentation!  

Outside her PhD Emma enjoys creative writing, painting and music. She believes there’s a big overlap between art and science, so loves anything that explores this space. She also enjoys designing outreach activities and volunteering to help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. 

An ode to conductive probes

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a fantastic technique for characterising nanoscale properties. AFMs are like a miniature record players: an ultra-sharp ‘tip’ scans over a sample, generating a 3D map of the nano-bumps and grooves. The resolution is so good that, if you’re super careful, you can image individual chemical bonds. AFM is non-destructive and requires no special preparation, which is particularly useful for soft materials that degrade in electron beams. Advanced AFM modes can unlock new nanoscale functional information about materials, which is the basis of my research.
By applying a voltage through a conductive AFM probe, we can excite vibrations in piezoelectric materials which can be measured using the highly sensitive detector. I use piezoresponse force microscopy to create nanoscale patterns in polymers, which are useful in next-generation data storage, and can be used to locally reorient molecular layers. This opens the door to tailored flexible electronic devices.

North East

Ethan Ellis

Ethan Ellis is a second-year materials science degree apprentice at Lucideon with the University of Derby. His work involves projects centered around materials development in aerospace and defence applications on advanced ceramics. One self-led project that Ethan is developing is a new ultra-high temperature ceramics processing method. However, Ethan's interest in weird and wonderful materials has inspired him to give this lecture on Synthetic spider silk.

Synthetic spider silk: A sustainable future for high-performance materials

Spider silk, renowned for its strength-to-weight ratio surpassing steel, has been challenging to mass-produce because of its complexity. The material's unique structure allows for simultaneous toughness and ductility, setting it apart from traditional materials. Recent discoveries in the production of this material, through genetic engineering of microbes and silkworms, allow for its implementation into real-world applications. This literature review explored the mechanisms, processing, and future applications of synthetic spider silk. The findings show synthetic spider silk demonstrates exceptional mechanical properties of 35-50% elongation and 5GPa tensile strength while remaining biodegradable and biocompatible. Sustainable production methods such as synthesizing proteins at body temperature. These developments position synthetic spider silk as a promising biomaterial with potential applications in medical technology, advanced textiles, and high-performance engineering solutions.