Michael Preuss

Professor Michael Preuss is Deputy Director of the Materials Performance Centre and the Nuclear Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre at the University of Manchester. He holds a Professorship in Metallurgy and is a member of the ILL Scientific Council. His research focuses on high-temperature materials for nuclear and aeroengine applications, particularly zirconium alloys for nuclear fuel cladding, titanium alloys, and nickel-base superalloys. He uses advanced characterization tools like synchrotron radiation and neutron diffraction.

Education: PhD in Physical Metallurgy from Technical University Hamburg-Harburg (Germany), 1999–present at University of Manchester. Research interests include microstructure-mechanical property relationships, corrosion mechanisms, and irradiation effects. He leads the MPC and collaborates with institutions like the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

Scientific Awards: EPSRC Leadership Fellowship (2010). Projects include the Materials Performance Centre, low-tensile-properties studies in Ti alloys, and hydrogen diffusion in zirconium alloys. Supervises over 60 students across CDTs like M4DE and NEXTGENNuclear.

Labs/Teams: Materials Performance Centre, Dalton Nuclear Institute. Key collaborations involve ISIS neutron source and European facilities. Research emphasizes physically based understanding of material behavior through in-situ 3D characterization.