Scientific program > Plenary speakers

Ulrike HECHT
Doctor of Engineering, leads the Alloys R&D group at Access e.V.

Ulrike Hecht leads the Alloys R&D group at Access e.V. Her genuine field of expertise is related to microstructure analysis by SEM / BSE / EDX and EBSD analysis. Her work focuses on alloy development and materials characterization along processes which span from directional solidification to additive manufacturing. She is a world renowned specialist of eutectic solidification, intermetallics and high entropy alloys solidification and subsequent phase transformations.

Henri NGUYEN-THI
Professor in the Department of Structure and Chemistry of Materials,
University of Aix-Marseille

Henri Nguyen-Thi works on several topics in solidification: formation of solidification microstructures (columnar dendritic growth, equiaxed growth, columnar to equiaxed transition), influence of gravity on solidification processes (convection, mechanical effects, buoyancy effects), influence of magnetic fields on solidification of metallic alloys. He is a renowned expert in in situ characterisation by synchrotron X-ray imaging (radiography, topography, tomography), by X-ray radiography (laboratory apparatus), and by microgravity experiments (International Space station, sounding rocket, parabolic flights). He is the head of the group Auto-organised Growth Microstructures at the Institut Matériaux Microélectronique Nanoscience de Provence (IM2NP) in Marseille and professor at Aix-Marseille Université.

Tomohiro TAKAKI
Professor of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology

Tomohiro Takaki works in the field of computational materials science and study material microstructures formed during solidification and grain growth, primarily using the phase-field method. Recently, He focuses on the research on dendrite growth by large-scale phase-field simulations using a GPU supercomputer. In particular, he is currently interested in developing a method that combine phase-field simulation and in situ observation for better understanding of dendritic solidification.

Peter VOORHEES
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University

Peter Voorhees is the Frank C. Engelhart Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, and Professor of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (by courtesy). He is co-director of the Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering, director of the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design and is chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was a member of the Metallurgy Division at the National Institute for Standards and Technology until joining the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. He has received numerous awards including the ASM International Materials Science Division Research Award (Silver Medal), the TMS Bruce Chalmers Award, the ASM J. Willard Gibbs Phase Equilibria Award, and the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Award for Teaching Excellence. Professor Voorhees is a fellow of ASM International, the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, and the American Physical Society. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has published over 300 papers in the area of the thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformations.