Professor Phil Prangnell

Phil Prangnell joined the Manchester Materials Science Centre after completing his PhD in Metal Matrix Composites at Cambridge University. His research activities are focused on studying advanced thermomechanical processing and joining techniques for light alloys (mainly aluminium and titanium). In particular, he is interested in understanding and modelling interactions between phase transformations, deformation microstructures, and industrial processes. He has worked extensively with the aerospace industry on developing advanced manufacturing techniques for aerospace alloys. In recent years his welding research had focused on joining dissimilar metals and friction welding, as well as variations on the friction stir welding process (e.g. stationary shoulder FSW etc.). He is also actively engaged in understanding relationships between microstructure and properties in additive manufacturing. He has worked on other areas of aerospace manufacture such as creep-age forming, and has a long standing interest in ultra-high strain deformation. He was recently awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair, in partnership with Airbus, and is actively engaged in developing the Manchester-Airbus collaboration in metallurgical excellence.

He is a director of LightForm, a Manchester programme grant aiming to embed intelligent metallurgical engineering in forming wrought semi-finished products and has a strong interest in post graduate training, being as Co-director of the EPSRC Centre of Doctoral Training in Advanced Metallic Systems with Sheffield University, for the last ten years.