Professor Katerina Christofidou has been an important part of the Henry Royce Institute’s University of Sheffield partnership since the beginning of 2022 when she took on the role of Materials Discovery and Prototyping Technology Platform Lead. Her career is littered with accomplishments, including being the recipient of the IOM3’s Grünfeld Medal for application of alloys to industry and more recently her appointment as Chair in Digital and Sustainable Materials, the first woman to hold the position of Chair in Metallurgy in the department’s 140 year history.
I am honoured to be entrusted with the role of Advanced Metals Processing Research Area Lead. I’m excited to work together with the team here in Sheffield, across the Henry Royce Institute and more importantly reaching out more broadly across the community to push the boundaries of our field and realise the potential of advanced sustainable metallurgical systems in delivering net-zero, digitalised technologies.
Professor Kathy Christofidou
University of Sheffield
Professor Christofidou succeeds Professor Martin Jackson in the Royce role of Advanced Metals Processing Research Area Lead this month, ready to take this successful team forward as they continue their collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to driving innovation in the realms of research and development.
Royce at Sheffield provides a world-leading centre of excellence for advanced metals manufacturing and we’re delighted that Kathy is stepping into this key leadership role which will oversee the development of the next generation of metals, working with both UK manufacturing and academia.
Sheffield is an important national hub for advanced manufacturing, with a history of steelmaking and advanced manufacturing - solving materials challenges will remain central to this endeavour and Kathy’s depth of knowledge, experience and her enthusiasm will build on the excellent Royce reputation developed by Martin.
Professor David Knowles
CEO Henry Royce Institute
We greatly look forward to what Professor Christofidou will bring to this position and the team at Royce at the University of Sheffield, and take this opportunity to thank Prof. Martin Jackson profusely for all he has done for the research area in his three years as lead.
Furthermore, we are very proud to announce that Dr. Yunus Azakli will be succeeding Professor Christofidou’s former position of Technology Platform Lead in Materials Discovery and Prototyping.
I’ve never met anyone as talented and knowledgeable as Yunus Azakli when it comes to alloy melting. From nuclear steels, high temperature refractory alloys through to next generation automotive materials, Yunus has been the unsung hero of the Royce over the last few years: always willing to provide world-class underpinning expertise that has enabled so many researchers and academics in the UK and beyond to publish their work and achieve grant capture.
Prof. Martin Jackson
University of Sheffield
Dr. Azakli is already a key member of the Royce at the University of Sheffield team in the realms of alloy development and will bring his vast knowledge, skills, experience and energy into this role as we continue realising the vast opportunities for novel alloys.