COM & LightMAT Symposia
Get an overview look at this year’s symposia on materials science, light metals and sustainability.
Click on the boxes below to learn more about each symposium.
Innovations in Manufacturing
Chair: Mohsen Mohammadi, University of New Brunswick
Chair: Alec Davis, University of Manchester
Committee Members
Abdallah Elsayed, University of Guelph
Mihaiela Isac, McGill University
Sumanth Shankar, McMaster University
Derek Aranguren van Egmond, NRC
Sheida Sarafan, NRC Montreal
Hamed Asgari Moslehabadi, University of New Brunswick
Nikolas Provatas
McGill University
Presentation: Modelling Defect-Microstructure Interactions During Rapid Solidification
Rapid solidification of critical metals under rapid laser heating is fundamental to additive manufacturing processes. This regime of crystallization gives rise to complex defect-microstructure interactions and non-equilibrium kinetics that strongly effect solid phases that form. This talk will review new phase field type (PF/PFC) modelling research that sheds light on the evolution of rapidly solidified microstructures across multiple length and time scales. At the mesoscale, we examine grain orientation selection in laser melted Al versus Al-Cu alloys grown under continuous growth kinetics and experimentally extracted thermal histories, comparing the results to DTEM experiments. At the nanoscale, we probe the competition of kinetic and surface energy anisotropy and density trapping in directionally solidified aluminum grains, showing how these effects give rise to spatio-temporally varying polygonization and sub-gran structures, as well as complex 3D dislocation networks. Finally, we examine the regime of ultra-rapid solidification in Al-Cu alloys, revealing an interesting two-time precipitation mechanism found to emerge from dislocation-grain boundary interactions.
Alloy Development and Characterization: Structural and Functional Materials
This symposium focuses on the dynamic realms of alloy development and characterization, emphasizing both structural and functional materials. As technological advancements and industrial demands progress, the creation of innovative alloys is essential for enhancing performance, durability, and functionality across diverse sectors. Participants will explore cutting-edge methodologies and techniques in alloy composition, microstructural analysis, and performance assessment, targeting challenges within aerospace, automotive, construction and electronics industries, among others. The event will feature presentations on state-of-the-art research, collaborative opportunities, and case studies that underscore the role of novel alloys in achieving superior mechanical properties and customized functionalities. Through this symposium, we strive to deepen the understanding and broaden the horizons of alloy science, making substantial contributions to the field of materials engineering.
Chair: Mousa Javidani, UQAC
Chair: Ida Westermann, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Committee Members
Siamak Nikzad Khangholi, UQAC
Raynald Gauvin
McGill University
Presentation: Characterization of the microstructure of Al alloys with state-of-the-art electron microscopy
The development of Aluminum alloys for the transportation industry relies on controlling the size, distribution, and volume fraction of nano-sized precipitated to improve their mechanical properties as well as the texture of their grains and the distribution of coarse intermetallics. These mechanical properties and corrosion resistance are also related to the size and texture of the grains of these alloys, among other factors. Electron microscopy is a key technique to perform such characterization and this work will present state-of-the-art results with field emission low voltage scanning electron microscopy with EDS and EBSD and with scanning transmission electron microscopy at 30 keV with a unique electron microscope that has a 0,15 nm spatial resolution with EDS and EELS capabilities. Three-dimensional electron microscopy imaging of these alloys will be presented with 3D BSE, EDS and EBSD maps acquired with a state-of-the-art three-column focus ion beam.
Biography
Professor Raynald Gauvin received his Ph.D. in 1990 at École Polytechnique de Montréal in Metallurgical Engineering. He was then appointed as an assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering at Université de Sherbrooke where he became associate Professor in 1995 and full Professor in 1998. In 2001, he joined the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering of McGill University, Montréal, Canada, as a full Professor.
Professor Gauvin’s research interests are related to developing new methods to characterize the microstructure of materials using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis and Monte Carlo simulations. He is the creator of the CASINO program which is used by more than 10,000 users in the world. He built one of the best scanning electron microscopy laboratories in the world with the electron microscopes he acquired over the years, the SU-3500, the SU-8000, and the SU-8230 Cold Fiend SEM, the low voltage STEM SU-9000 with Lithium detection capabilities at 1 nm spatial resolution and the triple beam FIB NX-5000, all from Hitachi. With these microscopes, he developed innovative and inexpensive methods to characterize Al alloys at nm spatial resolution.
He has more than 700 papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings. He was an Invited Speaker at more than 150 international scientific conferences. He won several scientific prizes, most notably the 31st Canadian Materials Physics Medal in 2007 from the Metallurgical Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, the Heinrich Award in 1997 from the Microbeam Analysis Society of America, and the Prix d’excellence du président de l’École for the best Doctorate Thesis defended in 1990 at École Polytechnique de Montréal. He is currently the holder of the Birks Chair in Metallurgy He was awarded Honorary Membership of the European Microbeam Analysis Society in 2017 and a Fellow of the Microanalytical Society of America in 2019.
Joining and Multi-Material Design
A contribution to sustainable material design is the selective and localised combination of different materials, which allows designs to be optimized for performance and weight by using each material where it is most effective. This greatly expands design possibilities. To take full advantage of multi-material designs, there are two major issues that must be fully understood. Firstly, how multiple materials, when paired either in composite structural materials or in components, work together to develop overall global properties, and secondly how these new materials may be joined together to develop multi-material structures and what are the in-use properties of these joints. This symposium will present contributions on hybrid material compounds and composites that boost sustainable design, as well as joining methods, joint properties, and metallurgical interactions resulting from jointing processes when joining both multi-material joints as well as similar joints from advanced materials. Finally, although multi-material design can improve design performance, it does so at the cost of material reusability, as recycling products requires material separation and sorting into constituent material streams. To promote sustainability and the circular economy, the symposium will also discuss methodologies for efficient separation and recycling of multi-material components.
Chair: Elliot Biro, University of Waterloo
Chair: Hajo Dieringa, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon
Babak Shalchi Amirkhiz
Research Scientist, canmetMATERIALS, Natural Resource Canada
Presentation: Alloy Design for Metal Additive Manufacturing: A Microstructural Perspective
This presentation explores the critical role of advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in driving innovation in metal additive manufacturing (AM) through microstructural characterization and alloy design. Leveraging TEM techniques, we provide insights into solidification behavior, phase distribution, and nanoscale features that directly influence mechanical performance and heat treatment responses in AM alloys.
Key studies on AlSi10Mg alloys have elucidated the effects of solidification cell structures, build orientation, and post-processing heat treatments on mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms. Investigations into maraging steels revealed microstructural evolution during heat treatments, highlighting phase transformations critical for optimizing strength and toughness in AM components. For nickel-aluminum bronze (NAB), TEM identified a unique nano-precipitate formed during AM, providing new perspectives on hierarchical microstructure development compared to conventional cast alloys.
Research on Ti-6Al-4V demonstrated the potential of hybrid grades with optimized oxygen content, achieving a balance between cost efficiency and mechanical integrity while improving fatigue resistance and tensile strength. Additionally, collaborative work on A205 aluminum alloys with ceramic additives, such as TiB₂, has shown significant improvements in microstructural refinement, crack resistance, and overall material performance, addressing common challenges in AM aluminum alloys.
These findings underscore the transformative impact of TEM in AM research, facilitating a deeper understanding of microstructure-property relationships and enabling data-driven optimization of alloy design, heat treatment strategies, and mechanical performance for industrial applications.
Materials for Clean Energy Transition - Hydrogen, Magnets, and Batteries
Mitigating climate change requires the transition of the global energy from fossil fuels to clean energy sources such as hydrogen, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, tide, etc. Materials play a pivotal role in developing sustainable energy solutions and in enabling the clean energy transition. This symposium brings together researchers, engineers, and industrial experts to discuss the latest advancements and challenges in materials science and engineering crucial for clean energy transition. The focus areas include hydrogen, magnets, batteries, and their circularity and sustainability. The key themes for these areas include but are not limited to:
- Hydrogen: production, transportation, storage, and applications.
- Magnets: materials development, manufacturing, recycling, sustainability, and applications.
- Batteries: advances in battery chemistry, next generation batteries, solid-state batteries, energy density, safety, circularity, and sustainability.
Chair: Youliang He, CanmetMATERIALS, magnets
Chair: Saeed Tamimi, University of Strathclyde, UK, magnets
Committee Members
Clodualdo Aranas (University of New Brunswick, magnets)
Fateh Fazeli (CanmetMATERIALS, hydrogen)
Jun Song (McGill University, hydrogen)
François Larouche (Hydro Québec, batteries)
Gaofeng Li (National Research Council, magnets and batteries)
Computational Materials Design and Engineering
Chair: Cliff Butcher, University of Waterloo
Chair: Alexander Hartmaier, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Committee Members
Conrard Giresse Tetsassi Feugmo, University of Waterloo
Erfan Fatehi, National Research Council
Materials and Processes for Closed-Loop Circularity in Transport Applications
Chair: Irmgard Weißensteiner, Montanuniversität Leoben
Chair: Lei Ray Pan, Rio Tinto Alcan
Phillip Dumitraschkewitz
Montanuniversität Leoben
Presentation: In-situ STEM Investigation of Solidification and Primary Phase Formation in High Fe Content Al Alloys
Recycling of Al alloys is gaining evermore importance with the increasing use of Al alloys as structural alloys in the automotive industry, accelerated also by the rise of electric vehicles. Fe is one of the main contamination elements introduced by increased recycling rates, it is critical for eventually forming brittle primary phases and is therefore often strictly limited by alloy limits. Nowadays transmission electron microscopes are capable of a broad range of in-situ experiment capabilities also including possibilities for investigation of solidification.
In our in-situ scanning transmission electron microscope experiments we utilize a simple but time-efficient sample preparation for specimens determined for melting and solidification on a commercial MEMS-based chip heating system. We show that rapid solidification conditions but also comparatively slow cooling experiments are feasible, present results and possibilities of analytic investigation of formed phases. In-view of high-Fe content Al alloys we will highlight strategies for investigation of primary phase formation and the in-situ observation of primary phase formation in a high Fe, Al-Fe-Si alloy.
Biography
Phillip combines materials science and metallurgy with a focus on nanoscale processes. He is an expert in in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), where he observes phase transformations directly as they take place—a technically demanding task that requires great precision. His work bridges experimental innovation with a deep understanding of microstructural evolution. He is also experienced in atom probe tomography and the advanced analysis of precipitation and phase behavior.
Jessica Hiscocks
KPM
Presentation: Sustainability in Aluminum Recycling Through Fe and Mn Removal
In order for aluminum to be infinitely recyclable and a true closed-loop material, there must exist financially viable methods of removing undesirable elements. While aluminum purification is possible via a number of methods such as zone refining none are currently financially feasible compared to material dilution. This necessity for an ongoing supply of aluminum prime prevents aluminum recycling from being a closed loop system and increases the carbon footprint of recycled aluminum.
This presentation will present a method of removing Fe and Mn via precipitation that has the potential to be low cost and require few process controls. During the development of this process many unsuccessful reaction paths were attempted, some that failed due to thermodynamic considerations, and some that were impractical due to other considerations. As part of this presentation these will be discussed, including the use of Mg, Y, Ce, Ca, Sr, V and Ti and La, and unsuccessful efforts to trigger similar precipitation reactions to remove silicon from the melt.
This presentation will discuss the practical requirements of such a precipitation reaction, and the technical methods used to evaluate the feasibility of the reactions involved. Alternate separation methods for future evaluation will be discussed briefly.
Sustainable Metal Supply: Mining, Processing and Recycling
Chair: Alessandro Navarra, McGill University
Chair: Pasquale Cavaliere, University of Oulu
Committee Members
Tassos Grammatikopoulos
Director Technical Services (Mineralogy), SGS
Presentation: Core applications of process mineralogy in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy for critical metals
Process mineralogy plays a pivotal role in optimizing the processing and the extraction critical metals (i.e., REE, Li, Ga, Nb). It includes a number of techniques such as automated electron microscopes (e.g., TIMA-X), mineral chemistry and surface chemistry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and others. They collectively can characterize the different ores, and provide phase identification, mineral and textural quantification, grain size, and mineral liberation and association. Thus, we can assess the behaviour of valuable and penalty metals, and elemental deportment, within complex ore matrices. The data can be integrated with metallurgical processing techniques to enhance the efficiency of mineral processing operations and assist in the flowsheet development, and provide insights into efficient extraction methods. Examples will be presented to demonstrate the strong dependence between quantitative mineralogy and sustainable mineral extraction REE, Li, Ga, Nb, needed for green energy.
Bio
Dr. Tassos Grammatikopoulos is the Director Technical Services (Mineralogy) at SGS professional with over 25 years of experience in the minerals, metals and mining industry. He completed his PhD in Economic Geology at Queen’s, and has over 100 publications in conference proceedings and peer reviewed journals. He is a renowned expert in mineralogical applications, mineral processing and geometallurgy.
Tassos will be presenting on the importance of process mineralogy for the mineral processing and extractive metallurgy of critical metals.
Danny Tremblay
Manager for Commercial and Recycling sites Operations, Glencore Recycling
Presentation: Glencore’s North American Copper Cluster: Circularity as a Source of Critical Metals
As the global shift toward energy transition accelerates, copper remains a critical metal—both for its essential role in electrification and its high recyclability. Embracing a circular economy model enhances the sustainability of electrification while ensuring a secure, local supply for businesses across North America.
This presentation will explore Glencore’s role as a leading electronics recycler, addressing the challenges and opportunities within the copper industry amid this transition. We will outline key stages of the recycling process, from material recovery to reintegration into the supply chain, demonstrating how circularity supports responsible resource management and strengthens the resilience of North America’s critical metal supply.
Bio
Danny Tremblay is Manager for Commercial and Recycling sites Operations at Glencore Copper – North America and the Philippines. He fulfilled many roles within Glencore’s recycling operations since joining the organization in 2008, from sample preparation at the Horne Smelter to managing sampling facilities in Rhode Island. Danny is a board member of the Québec Mining Association and holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Laval University.
Danny will be presenting on Glencore’s expanding recycling capabilities, as it increases the share of recycled material passing through its North American copper value chain.
Symposia title here
This symposium is sponsored by Metso and AtkinsRealis.
Specific themes include, but are not limited to:
- Case studies of successful and unsuccessful engineering projects
- Challenges in running high-energy experiments in the academic setting
- Hybridization of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy
- Hybridization of extractive metallurgy and recycling
- Current and future trends in extractive metallurgy
Consulting & design firms, metal producers and mines, academics.
Chair: Alessandro Navarra, McGill University
Co-Chair: Elmira Moosavi, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)
Leili Tafaghodikhajavi, McMaster University
Roberto Parra, Universidad de Concepción
Philippe Ouzilleau, McGill University
Anthony Buragina, BBA
Nagendra Tripathi, Rio Tinto
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