Month: July 2025

Postdoc spotlight: Tamas Zagyva

Tamas Zagyva is a Research Associate in the Department of Materials. His research investigates advanced ceramic materials for nuclear fusion reactors and he performs experiments to simulate the damage that would occur in a fusion reactor, evaluating the radiation resistance of the advanced ceramic materials. In this new blog post, he shares insights into studying materials science, the potential impact of his research, and hobbies he enjoys outside the lab.

What inspired you to become a Materials Scientist?

After finishing my undergraduate studies in Earth Sciences, I worked as a technician at a research institute for one year. The laboratory focused on developing ceramic implants, and I was fascinated by the process of creating new materials and finding innovative ways to achieve the desired properties. I also enjoyed using advanced analytical techniques to characterise the materials. Due to these positive experiences, I decided to study a master’s in Materials Science and went on to complete a PhD working with ceramic and glass-ceramic nuclear materials. 

How would you explain your research to someone outside the field?

I work with advanced ceramic materials for nuclear fusion reactors. One of the critical challenges in fusion reactors is neutron radiation, which can damage essential reactor components such as superconducting magnets, vital for successful operation. Therefore, neutron shielding materials are needed to protect these magnets from radiation damage.

Shielding materials must exhibit high radiation resistance. In my research, I perform ion irradiation experiments on candidate neutron shielding materials using particle accelerators. These experiments simulate the damage that would occur in a fusion reactor. Afterwards, I characterise the microstructure of the irradiated materials and evaluate their radiation resistance.

Why did you study this area and why is it important?

Studying radiation damage is an exciting research area because each material behaves differently under radiation, presenting a challenging yet fascinating puzzle. Currently, my research focuses on the radiation resistance of fusion shielding materials. Identifying inadequate materials and selecting those with sufficient radiation resistance is essential for the successful operation of fusion reactors. This work is critical for advancing nuclear fusion technology.

How could this research make an impact?

My research focuses on identifying suitable shielding materials for spherical tokamak fusion reactors. With many candidate materials and limited data on their behaviour under radiation, my work aims to fill this gap. My research could accelerate the development of commercially viable fusion reactors by advancing our understanding of these materials.

A commercially available fusion reactor would provide a significant source of clean energy, substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping combat climate change.

Who do you collaborate with at Imperial and beyond?

At Imperial, I collaborate closely with three PhD students – Joe Pollard, Mashu Harada, and Karim Bakkar – in Dr Sam Humphry-Baker’s group. These research projects are focused on investigating radiation damage in materials such as hafnium hydride, tungsten boride, and tungsten carbide.

Beyond Imperial, I have established collaborations with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the Dalton Cumbrian Facility. We conduct comprehensive studies on radiation damage in neutron shielding and nuclear waste materials.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

The most exciting part for me is characterising newly irradiated samples. I enjoy using advanced analytical techniques, and it is always thrilling to see if the materials behave as expected during the irradiation experiments. This process of discovery and validation keeps my work both engaging and rewarding.

What do you enjoy outside of research?

Outside of research, I enjoy playing board games and chess, watching motorsports and TV shows, go-karting, and hiking.

What’s something your colleagues would be surprised to learn about you?

I am currently developing and designing two board games, with plans to publish them once they are finished.

Student Spotlight: My year placement at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Kinga Molnar is an undergraduate student in the Department of Materials. Kinga decided to take a year away from her studies to complete a placement at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. In this new blog post, she shares more about her experience, what she has learned and how her experience will help her in her final year of study at Imperial.

Where are you completing your placement? 

I’m currently completing a student industrial placement at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. ISIS Neutron and Muon Source is part of the Rutherford Appleton Lab, which falls under the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and that’s part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). ISIS is located on the Harwell Campus, which is home to loads of other facilities and companies across a range of disciplines. At ISIS, neutrons and muons are used for all sorts of characterisation techniques: scattering, diffraction, reflectometry, so it’s a hotspot for materials science.

How did you organise the placement? 

I found this placement online on Gradcracker. When I first read the job description, I thought “wow, this is me!”. The job description was looking for an industrial placement student for materials characterisation, specifically in X-ray techniques, ferromagnetic resonance and magnetometry. Before applying, I made an appointment with the Careers Office at Imperial, where they helped me with my CV and Cover Letter.

I applied in the first week of October and waited for a reply. During the term, I had almost given up finding a placement opportunity, as I had received many rejections, however, on the last day of term in December, I received an interview invite for January! I was incredibly excited and very thankful to my personal tutor, Dr Sam Humphry-Baker, who guided my preparations for my interview. I recieved confirmation of my placement about a week later!

What are the aims of your project? 

As an industrial placement student, my role is to continue the development of an offline ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) sample environment. This involves performing measurements on thin film permalloys in a variety of set-ups using cavity or coplanar waveguides and investigating the implications of each component on the system. Furthermore, I characterise ferromagnetic multilayer thin films containing rare-earth elements with the Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID), a bulk magnetometer. Once characterisation is finished, my job is to improve the ferromagnetic resonance set-up with the incorporation of these samples. Finally, I perform X-ray reflectometry alignment in the Rigaku Smartlab X-ray reflectometer to investigate the source of misalignment at low angles. Therefore, my day-to-day job involves sample mounting, data analysis and electrical component handling.

What has been the highlight of your placement? 

The highlight of my placement was the Engineering Experience Programme, which is very similar to our 1st Year Design Study Coursework.

I chose to be involved in this voluntary programme, which involved a six-month-long weekly mentoring of six sixth-form students in a team of four mentors. I found it very rewarding environment since we, the four mentors, signed up for this opportunity individually, but working towards the same goal has made us excellent in teamwork.

The programme focused on helping the students to build an Early Flood Detection System. As mentors, we have grown together and were able to support the team due to our diverse experiences and disciplines of mechanical, software, materials and electronic engineering. Throughout the project we also prepared a variety of workshops from materials selection to referencing, guiding the students with writing their first ever scientific report, transferring our poster skills, demonstrating how to log their work and showing how to present in front of a facility wide audience during the celebration day in the Visitor Centre. This experience has encouraged me continue to look for opportunities to learn new skills and develop myself.

Why did you want to complete a placement with ISIS Neutron and Muon Source?

As of now, I have finished my third year studying Materials Science and Engineering (MEng), and after this placement, I will be returning to my fourth year to complete my studies. My placement at ISIS has allowed me to experience both working in both industry and academic research at the same time, and helped me to focus for my future career goals.

How does the placement relate to your degree at Imperial? 

Throughout my degree, I’ve gained laboratory and teamwork experience around characterisation techniques like 3D printing, laser cutting, X-ray diffraction, electron or atomic force microscopy. This helped me to discover that I really enjoy materials characterisation and I want to learn more about materials characterisation methods involving neutrons.

As an undergraduate student, my degree is heavy in magnetism-based theory but we do not have many opportunities to perform experiments involving magnetism. Therefore, I found it a bit intimidating to start the placement on experimental ferromagnetic characterisation and be given unsupervised access to the facility! It took me a couple of months to learn how to apply the theory I’d learned to the lab, however it’s been amazing to translate my learnings from Imperial into practice.

What are you learning from the placement?

I’ve gained a lot of transferable skills, like learning how to clearly communicate ideas to my line manager and within the team, across the division and RAL. I’ve also developed the confidence to make decisions independently, how to solve problems, and know when to seek guidance.

I’ve enjoyed learning how to operate specific technical equipment like SQUID bulk magnetometer, Rigaku Smartlab X-ray reflectometer or Rohde and Schwarz VNA with their respective software. My use of Origin 2024 and LaTeX software daily will also help me with my master’s project next year.

I also had the opportunity to give talks about my project to variety of audience, for example a 15 minute long talk to our division, explaining my project and experience as a placement student. This helped me to communicate clearly, interact with professionals and be confident in answering and asking questions.

 Has the placement affected your future project/career aspirations?  

My department and this degree prepared me well for this placement, thanks to the topics we have covered throughout the years. I was able to talk and interact with anyone about anything. Whether it was about biomaterials, materials for energy storage or nuclear energy, I could make a contribution to all discussions and talks and ask challenging questions to researchers. Every detail I had learned in my course, from phase diagrams to quantum mechanics, has helped me in this placement.

Throughout my placement, I have also learnt how to deal with the challenge of project delays.  I am still unsure about the exact career path I would like to follow, but this placement has taught me what key factors to look for when applying for a job or PhD position.

Did you learn any soft skills during the placement? 

Throughout my placement, I chose to lead many tours for lead scientists to sixth-form students. I also volunteered at multiple Outreach events both on and off-site, and created four posters for a variety of conferences and events.

What is your biggest takeaway from this experience? 

The biggest takeaway is that I’ve found I prefer to work in a team, as we can bring together a variety of expertise. I’ve also improved my communication skills, teamwork, flexibility, adaptability and decision making. Developing these skills has allowed me to learn how to deliver my best while being open-minded to learn from others.

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Placement: Ry Nduma

Ry Nduma is a second-year undergraduate in the Department of Materials. Ry is completing a placement with Professor Aron Walsh as part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Programme. During the placement, he is exploring how to develop smarter, faster ways to discover new materials using AI and programming.

Can you tell us more about your placement?

When I first started my UROP placement in the Department of Materials, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had found myself at a crossroads and needed clarity on what I hoped would materialise out of my degree and time here at Imperial. So, I decided to go back to the roots of which I was interested in: programming. With the recent developments in AI, I was curious to learn how to bridge AI with my degree in Materials Science and Engineering.

 I emailed Professor Aron Walsh, introducing myself and sharing my programming experiences from our first and second-year Materials modules, alongside what I had learned from online courses. To my delight, Professor Walsh welcomed me into his research group for the placement, with a project focused on computational materials design.

What did your project involve?

My project was part of a larger effort to develop smarter, faster ways to discover new materials. Before starting the project, I had to brush up on the basics and become familiar with the group’s existing research. First, I looked at the fundamentals of materials informatics, understanding the simple rules chemists use to predict how atoms behave and learning about crystal structure databases.

My first task involved working with SMACT (Semiconducting Materials by Analogy and Chemical Theory), where I developed simple rules for screening inter metallics based on chemical pattens and behaviours. This hands-on introduction taught me how decades of chemical knowledge could be encoded into algorithms that screen millions of possible materials in minutes, something that would take humans years to do.

As I grew more comfortable using computational tools, I enjoyed learning more about how artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), are beginning to transform materials discovery. Traditionally, designing new materials involves extensive and expensive trial-and-error experiments like synthesising compounds, testing properties, and iterating based on results. With AI becoming more powerful, it’s exciting to think about using all the chemical knowledge built into these models to predict how materials will behave—and even help design them—before we step into the lab.

After this, I worked closely with my supervisor and started developing some experiments probing into how large language models (LLMs) have learned to understand the complex relationships, rules, physics, chemistry, and mathematics that underpin materials design. We discovered that because these models have been trained on huge amounts of scientific papers and text, they are able to learn and identify vast patterns and knowledge that took humanity centuries to discover. I began investigating how this accumulated knowledge could be harnessed to design, synthesise, and discover new materials with tailored properties, from next-generation solar cell absorbers to novel battery electrodes. The potential applications seem limitless: materials that could capture carbon from the atmosphere, superconductors that work at higher temperatures, or catalysts that make chemical processes more sustainable and efficient.

Why did you want to complete a placement in this research field?

Science and computers have always been fascinating, but materials informatics offers something unique: a chance to apply computational thinking to tangible, real-world challenges. I found it exciting that this field combines programming and data analysis with materials science to tackle practical challenges, from designing better batteries, catalysts, and semiconductors for energy and electronics, to advancing sustainable manufacturing.

During my placement, I’ve been building confidence in using computations tools designed specifically for materials science, like SMACT for high-throughput screening, neural networks like MACE that can learn interactions between atoms in a system and accelerate atomic-scale simulations of material properties for virtually any kind of material, and newer generative AI tools like Chemeleon that open up exciting possibilities for designing new materials.

But beyond the technical skills, I am continuing to gain experience in the research process and how to think like a researcher, whether it’s formulating hypotheses, designing computational experiments, and interpreting results considering what we already know about materials. One of my biggest lessons has been learning to navigate the delicate balance between computational predictions and experimental reality, understanding that our models are only as good as the physics we encode in them.

What did you enjoy and how will this help you in future?

This experience really changed how I see my future. Before the UROP, I thought of programming and materials science as separate interests, but now I see them as complementary tools for tackling humanity’s biggest challenges. The confidence I’ve gained, not just in technical skills but in my ability to contribute to cutting-edge research, has made me certain that I want to pursue a PhD.

I also attend the group’s weekly group meetings, where the Walsh group encourages a culture of asking questions, sharing knowledge freely, and having open conversations. I’ve realised that research isn’t a solo effort; it’s built on teamwork, discussion and sharing ideas. This experience has been transformative for me.

The UROP placement has been more than just a research experience for me: I have learned how combining ideas from different fields, like chemistry, programming, and materials science, can lead to faster and smarter ways of solving scientific problems. What excited me the most was seeing how AI and materials science can make real contributions to sustainability, energy, and even broader human progress

What advice would you give to students who want to apply for a placement next summer?

When contacting professors, be specific about why their research excites you and how your background, even if your experience is limited, could contribute to their research group – you’d be surprised how far a little self-belief can take you. Also, embrace the steep learning curve. You may be overwhelmed in your first weeks, surrounded by concepts and techniques you’ve never encountered. This is normal and thankfully it doesn’t last forever! Be patient with yourself, ask questions, and remember that every expert started in the same place. Finally, keep a growth mindset. The skills you lack today can be learnt tomorrow, and the questions you can’t answer yet might lead to your biggest breakthrough. Good luck!