Emilia Russell, a second-year PhD student in the Department of Engineering at Durham University, has won the prestigious IOM3 Young Persons’ Lecture Competition (YPLC), which sees students and professionals up to the age of 28 delivering a lecture on a materials, minerals, mining or engineering related subject.
This year’s YPL Competition UK final took place on 15 May 2024 and was sponsored by Royce, The Worshipful Company of Armourers & Brasiers, Midland Institute of Mining Engineers and East Midlands Materials Society.
Emilia claimed first place with her outstanding presentation on investigating the impacts of mechanical strain on the electrical properties of 2-dimensional semiconductors.
Reflecting on her experience, Emilia said:
“The 2024 YPLC was such an incredible experience! Getting to meet some amazing PhD students and learn about their research, and having the opportunity to talk about my own in such a beautiful venue feels like a dream come true. I am honoured to have been awarded first place and I am really looking forward to being able to communicate my research on an even larger scale in the future.”
Philipp Schulz, a second-year PhD student at University College London (UCL) secured second place with a compelling talk on the environmental degradation that nickel-base superalloys may face in hydrogen combustion jet engine environments.
Hannah Hilton-Tapp, a third-year PhD student at the University of Leicester, earned third place with her presentation on the production of copper nanocomposite coatings via a novel pulse-reverse plating technique.
Royce would like to thank Dr Shelly Conroy, Lecturer in Functional Thin Films & Microscopy, Imperial College London, for representing the institute on the judging panel.
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