BCAST Students Shine at National Student Conference

PhD students from the Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST) made a strong impact at this year’s National Student Conference in Metallic Materials, held at the University of Sheffield on 20 June 2011. R Ritwik achieved the Best Presentation of the Day award for his work on Rheological Behaviour of Molten Metals.

The conference was organised by the University of Manchester and University of Sheffield’s newly formed Materials Research group. Drawing students from across UK, the conference had participants from the field of metallurgy and materials science, and the students were from their first to their final year of PhD. Invited speakers included renowned professors such as Professor Harry Bhadeshia as well as distinguished heads of research labs from various industries such as Tata Steel.

Students from BCAST had also been invited to participate in the conference: Magdalena Nowak, Zen Cassinath, Simon Jones, R Ritwik and Feng Yan were among the participants. Driving from Brunel University to University of Sheffield during the wee hours of the day, the group reached the venue in time for registration as well as to meet and greet distinguished professors from the field of metallurgy and materials science, as well as to meet students working in this field.

There were three parallel sessions going throughout the day due to the large number of presentations. The sessions included research on iron and steel, and advancements in metallurgy, with over 70 presentations being scheduled. There was also a poster session alongside the presentations. It was a unique event where students and professors in the field could gain knowledge on the ongoing advanced research in the field of metallurgy in the UK.

There were several guest lectures on Careers after PhD delivered by representatives from small, medium and large companies such as Rolls Royce. At the end of the presentations, the professors who were grading each presentation had a prizegiving ceremony for the Best Newcomer in Research, as well as a Best Presentation of the Day award for the students, which brought about immense excitement among the participants.

R Ritwik was awarded the Best Presentation of the Day for his work on Rheological Behaviour of Molten Metals. Describing his work as “someone who knows what he is talking about”, Professor Phil Prangnell of the University of Manchester awarded a prize of a £50 book voucher. A student from University of Sheffield was awarded Best Newcomer in Research for his work on Nickel Super-alloys.

It was a successful day for the students of BCAST, who not only caught the attention of various research groups and organizations with their diverse and well documented presentations, but also “shone” in the field of metallurgy and materials development in the UK.

Report by R Ritwik, PhD student, BCAST