Prof. Alexander M. Korsunsky
Trinity College, Univertisy of Oxford, UK

Alexander Korsunsky received his degree of Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) from Merton College, Oxford, following undergraduate education in theoretical physics. His current appointment is Professor of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford and Trinity College. He has given keynote plenaries at major international conferences on engineering and materials. He has developed numerous international links, including visiting professorships at Universitá Roma Tre (Italy), ENSICAEN (France) and National University of Singapore.
Prof Korsunsky’s research interests concern developing improved understanding of integrity and reliability of engineered and natural structures and systems, from high- performance metallic alloys to polycrystalline ceramics to natural hard tissue such as human dentin and seashell nacre. Prof Korsunsky co-authored books on fracture mechanics (Springer) and elasticity (CUP), and published over 200 papers in scholarly periodicals on the subjects ranging from neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis and the prediction of fatigue strength to micro-cantilever bio-sensors, size effects and scaling transitions in systems and structures.
Support for Prof Korsunsky’s research has come from EPSRC and STFC, two major Research Councils in the UK, as well as also from the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), NRF (South Africa), DFG (Germany), CNRS (France) and other international and national research foundations. Prof Korsunsky is a member of the editorial board of Journal of Strain Analysis published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK (IMechE).
Prof Korsunsky is consultant to Rolls-Royce plc, the global aeroengine manufacturer, whom he advises on company design procedures for reliability and consistency. He spent a period of industrial secondment at their headquarters in Derby, UK (supported by RAEng), and made recommendations on R&D in structural integrity.
Prof Korsunsky plays a leading role in the development of large scale research facilities in the UK and Europe. He is Chair of the Science Advisory Committee at Diamond Light Source (DLS) near Oxford, UK, and Chair of the User Working Group for JEEP (Joint Engineering, Environmental and Processing) beamline at DLS. These activities expand the range of applications of large scale science to problems in real engineering practice.
Prof Korsunsky’s research team at Oxford has involved members from almost every part of the globe (UK, FR, DE, IT, China, India, Korea, Malaysia, South Africa).

Prof. Yuyuan Zhao
University of Liverpool, UK

Dr. Yuyuan Zhao graduated with a BEng in 1985 and MSc in 1988 from Dalian University of Technology, China, and a DPhil in Materials from Oxford University in 1996. He was a Lecturer at Dalian University of Technology from 1988 to 1991, a Research Associate at the MADYLAM Laboratory of CNRS, France in 1995, and a Research Fellow at Birmingham University from 1995 to 1998. Dr. Yuyuan Zhao joined Liverpool University in 1998 as a Lecturer and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2005, Reader in 2010 and Professor in 2015. Dr. Yuyuan Zhao pioneered the Sintering and Dissolution Process (SDP) for manufacturing aluminium foam, which inspired the subsequent developments of several powder-based space-holder methods for manufacturing metal foams. He further invented the Lost Carbonate Sintering (LCS) process, a more versatile and cost-effective method for producing micro-porous metals. The LCS technology has led to the creation of Versarien, a highly successful start-up company which mass produces micro-porous copper for thermal management applications. Dr. Yuyuan Zhao was awarded the Ivor Jenkins Medal in 2015 for an outstanding contribution to powder metallurgy in developing and commercialising innovative powder based technologies for manufacturing metal foams. Dr. Yuyuan Zhao current research is focused on the manufacture, characterisation and applications of porous metals and metal matrix syntactic foams.