Richard Thackray

Dr. Richard Thackray is a Senior Lecturer in Metallurgy and Metals Production at the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield. He holds a PhD and BEng in materials-related fields from Imperial College London and serves as the Advanced Metallic Systems Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) Course Director and School External Partnership Lead.

• PhD, Imperial College London
• BEng, Imperial College London

His research focuses on steel production, including development of mould powders for continuous casting, inclusion engineering, and novel powder metallurgical techniques for stainless steel components. He actively explores sustainability in steelmaking, emphasizing energy consumption reduction, waste reuse/recycling, life cycle assessment of ferroalloys, and alternative materials for ironmaking. Current projects involve participation in SUSTAIN, an EPSRC-funded future steel manufacturing research hub.

Dr. Thackray's recent publications address topics like CaO/Al2O3 ratios in mould powders, thermomechanical processing of inclusions, and rheological properties of coated carbon black particles. His work reflects interdisciplinary collaboration across metallurgy, sustainable manufacturing, and materials processing.

• IOM3 Gold Medal (2021)

He teaches modules on industrial materials processing, sustainable manufacturing, and metallurgical processing. Dr. Thackray is a member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and chairs initiatives within the IOM3 Iron and Steel Group.