Marcel A. J. Somers

Marcel A. J. Somers is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), specializing in Materials and Surface Engineering. He holds a Dr. degree from Delft University of Technology and has been a full professor at DTU since 1997. He established and led an internationally recognized research section in Materials Science and Engineering from 2000 to 2020.

His research focuses on physical metallurgy, surface engineering, heat treatment, and materials characterization, with a strong emphasis on gas-metal interactions and microstructure analysis. His work bridges fundamental science and industrial application, particularly in stainless steels, titanium alloys, and advanced thermochemical processing.

The most recent publications highlight trends in expanded austenite modeling, stacking fault energy in high-entropy alloys, and ultrafine-grained martensitic steels, reflecting his sustained leadership in computational and experimental metallurgy.

Scientific Awards:

• Brandsma Prize (1989)
• ASM European Lecturer (1999/2000)
• Reinholdt W. Jorck Prize (2001)
• DTU Innovation Prize (2007)
• Alexander Foss Gold Medal (2014)
• Fellow of ASM International (2016)
• IFHTSE Medal (2019)
• Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (2022)

Advising and Grants: He has supervised multiple PhD students, including Felix Grüner and B. Ali. He is Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI on several major projects, such as Green Steel UG (2024–2029) and Surface engineering of titanium alloys for biomedical applications. He previously chaired the Danish Research Council for Technology and Production Sciences (2007–2009).

Labs and Teams: He was instrumental in establishing DTU’s Centre for Electron Nanoscopy and led the scientific framework for the Danish Hydrocarbon Research and Technology Centre. His research group at DTU is a leading center in thermochemical surface engineering and microstructure analysis.