Collocated with the Diamond Light Source - the UK’s national synchrotron and one of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world - and within walking distance of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Science and Technology Facilities Council (ISIS neutron and muon source, the Central Laser Facility and the Scientific Computing Division), we are embedded within the national laboratory with our core team providing expert experimental support, whilst our fellows provide a cadre of expertise in areas of Extreme Science.
Our Harwell services cover:
The provision of equipment, equipment development and manufacture, and support for high-risk experiments and experiments carried out under extreme sample environments.
Laboratory X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scanning capabilities, with access to our Harwell-based Nikon XTH 225 ST system, experimental rigs and off-line testing facilities.
The processing and analysis of large data sets generated from facility science experiments, particularly those involving 3D imaging. We handle the entire data processing pipeline, from reconstruction to quantified data.
We specialise in developing equipment for and running experiments in extreme environments, and our UoMaH fellowship span:
- Advanced manufacturing: how materials transform during modern manufacturing processes
- Advanced materials: focusing on microscale strain and phase transformation for alloys that contain metastable crystallography structure;
- Catalysis: the design and production of advanced novel catalytic materials;
- Electronic structure: identifying the organisation of electrons in matter;
- Nuclear fusion: research on new materials and manufacturing techniques for nuclear fusion applications;
- Invex imaging: using AI analytics to remove noise and reconstruct datasets;
- Mineral physics: high pressure behaviour of rocks at depth within the earth;
- Representation learning: to generate digital data representations (digital twins) from raw data;
- Resilience: facilities experiments improving the resilience of engineered structures
- Subsurface energy and storage:
- Extreme science: probing the behaviour of matter in extreme sample environments with 5D sampling under loading.
Our impact
Our mission is to act as a portal between researchers at UoM and the national facilities to deliver technical excellence in science and engineering. Examples of our work include:
Speak to our experts
Dr Damien Freitas
Research Fellow in Extremes
- Experimental petrology (geology) and characterisation at extreme conditions
- 4D quantification of micro-scale feedbacks in dehydrating, deforming rocks
- X-ray transparent triaxial apparatus
- Synchrotron investigations including Diamond (I12), ESRF, Soleil, SLS-Tomcat, APS and Petra III with a wide set of experimental high-pressure devices ranging from a few bars to 100 GPa.
Dr David Eastwood
Diamond-Manchester Research Fellow in Resilience
- Detecting and assessing airborne particulates matter, such as combustion emissions or aerosols
- Materials characterization for energy applications, including batteries, fuel cells, and nuclear
- X-ray imaging and tomography techniques at Diamond, SLS, SSRL and on lab-based systems in the Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility
- Design of in situ electrochemical experiments for synchrotron studies
- X-ray diffraction and surface scattering techniques
- Image analysis and volume correlation techniques
- Nanofabrication, thin film deposition and electron beam lithography
Dr Aneeqa Khan
Research Fellow in Nuclear Fusion
- Materials and engineering for nuclear fusion applications
- Research on fusion relevant damage in tungsten (ion irradiation, plasma exposures, high heat fluxes)
- Development and analysis of novel materials such as tungsten coated CVD diamond
- Developing and characterising novel welds (including electron beam welding of tungsten and P91 steel)
- Neutron diffraction and tomography using ENGIN-X and IMAT beamlines
Professor Neil Bourne
Professor of Matter in Extreme Environments and founding director UoMaH
- Extreme Science
- National Facility Science
- Advanced Materials
- Geophysics
- Risk and Resilience
- Population health
- New accelerators and analysis techniques