Seminar on Physical Metallurgy and the sustainability of metals

09 Dec 2025 02.30 PM - 03.30 PM MAE Meeting Room D (Blk N3.2-02-59) Current Students, Public

Professor Matthew Barnett

Deakin Distinguished Professor and Chair in Metallurgy

Deakin University, Institute for Frontier Materials Advanced Alloys and infrastructure, Australia

This seminar will be chaired by Asst Prof Ho Jin Yao.

Seminar Abstract

Making metals uses approximately 10% of global energy. It behoves metallurgists to conserve this resource. Primary production is where much of the energy is expended but there are key contributions that can be made in physical metallurgy. This is the topic of the present talk. Both alloy and process development have important roles to play. To examine these for a replaceable metal component, it is useful to consider the life cycle energy rate. This parameter captures the energies expended and saved in replacement, repair and recycling, while also highlighting the importance of energy savings and lifetime extension during product use. Examples are given for how new high entropy alloys are showing promise for energy savings in high temperature applications and as a potential sink for recycled material. It is also shown solid-state processing may provide a pathway to low embodied energy recycling.

Speaker's Biography 

Professor Matthew Barnett is a Deakin Distinguished Professor of Metallurgy and an ARC Laureate Fellow. He began his career as a metallurgy trainee at BHP Steel while completing his Bachelor of Metallurgy at RMIT, and has been a faculty member at Deakin University since 1999. He has previously held ARC QEII and Future Fellowships, served as Director of the Institute for Frontier Materials from 2018 to 2022, and led the ARC mineAlloy Training Centre from 2018 to 2023. His current ARC Laureate project, “Alloy Alchemy,” focuses on developing new paradigms in alloy science to support a circular economy.

 

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