Ceramics & Glasses MSc By Research – (M.Sc.)

The Ceramics and Glasses research degrees are part of a progressive research area within the school; we have close links with industry and research councils and we work collaboratively with them on many areas of research within the subject.

Industrial application

Our research is concerned with the processing, characterisation and applications of structural and functional ceramic materials. Structural ceramics are used in engineering applications due to a combination of high strength, chemical / thermal resistance and extreme hardness. In contrast, functional ceramics exhibit unique electrical, magnetic and optical properties, which lead to applications in a diverse range of electronic components - filters in mobile telecommunications, exhaust gas sensors and pyroelectric thermal imaging cameras.
We are engaged in research to understand the structure-property relationships in a wide range of ceramic materials and to develop materials / components with enhanced properties. Materials are developed by conventional powder processing methods and by novel processing procedures.
Research projects

Active projects in this area involve a wide range of processing techniques for functional and structural materials - these techniques are employed in industries as diverse as power generation, mobile telecommunications, aerospace and medical implants. To understand the microstructure-property relationships for the ceramics, we make extensive use of specialist characterisation facilities available in the school and in partner institutions nationally and internationally.
Industrial links

Through our close relationship with industry, we ensure that the research we carry out is relevant and focused on the requirements of new technology. We currently collaborate on research with, amongst others, Rolls-Royce, British Nuclear Fuel, Xaar Printing Technology, Powerwave, Morgan Electroceramics, and BAE Systems. We are also supported by EPSRC, the European Commission, and British Energy.