Dan Scotson

Dan Scotson is a Research Associate in the Department of Materials at the University of Manchester, specializing in the failure analysis of corrosion-resistant ceramic coatings for next-generation gas-turbine engines used in aerospace and electricity generation sectors. He holds a Master of Engineering in Materials Science from Oxford University (2016-2020) and serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for undergraduate Materials Science and Engineering courses.

Dan's research focuses on investigating materials failure in extreme environments through advanced characterization techniques including microscopy and spectroscopy. His work centers on environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) and thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), with particular expertise in understanding how these coatings degrade under high-temperature oxidizing conditions. He has developed specialized software tools like ScaleBarIT and MORPHSIS for image analysis and data visualization in materials science research.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on environmental barrier coatings for aerospace applications, examining steam oxidation behavior, interfacial characteristics, and temperature effects on silicon bond coats. His work bridges fundamental materials science with practical engineering applications aimed at improving fuel efficiency in next-generation gas-turbine engines operating above 1200°C.

• Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant (2025)
• Poster First Prize - 'Ceramics for Extreme Environment' theme (2023)

As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dan teaches across all three years of the Materials Science and Engineering program, covering computing fundamentals, materials processing, and advanced composites. His technical expertise extends to MATLAB programming for data processing, with several open-source tools available on GitHub, Zenodo, and Figshare. As a Discover Materials ambassador, he actively promotes materials science education through outreach projects like 'Porosity in Materials' showcased at major events including the Big Bang Fair 2023.

Dan is affiliated with the Henry Royce Institute, a national center for advanced materials research in the UK. His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to clean energy through developing more efficient aerospace materials that reduce fuel consumption and emissions.