Current Research Project:

Ferroelastic Domain Dynamics by In-Situ Techniques

My research aims to investigate, on the micro and nanoscale, the mechanisms responsible for the dynamics seen in ferroelastics, a sub class of materials known as ferroics that display novel properties in the form of domains and domain walls that separate them.

These domain walls are interesting as they exist on the nanoscale and exhibit properties that are unique from the bulk such as conduction in an insulating medium. It has also been shown in previous studies that you can create (nucleation), annihilate or move these structures with an applied force/field. In the case of ferroelastics, this can be with the application of strain and or heat.

I am trying to understand the principles behind domain wall dynamics in the hopes of manipulating these structures in a more controlled manner to benefit the fabrication of nanoscale devices in the context of smart structures and shape memory alloys, with the final aim to develop a means for strain cloaking in order to maintain these devices.

Biography

I graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2019 with an MSci degree and developed a particular interest for ferroics and electron microscopy from voluntary projects utilising a Scanning Electron Microscope-Focused Ion Beam (SEM-FIB) configuration as well as my MSci project, which focused on the characterisation of ferrolastics by means of in-situ Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and optical studies.

At present, alongside the PhD, I am an active member of the microscopy community here and am a member of the MSI committee as a PG representative.

Research interest

• Ferroics
• Ferroelastics
• Microscopy