I am a Lecturer in Surface Engineering at the Department of Materials and Henry Royce Institute. I completed my PhD in Coatings and Ceramics from the University of Manchester in November 2015. Before my PhD study in Manchester, I completed my master’s degree in Shanghai Jiao Tong University (March 2011) and undergraduate degree in Zhengzhou University (June 2008), both in Materials Science and Engineering. After completing my PhD, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Manchester from November 2015 to October 2018. I joined OxMet Technologies (now Alloyed) in October 2018 as an alloy development engineer and coating programme lead. After a short industry career, I was awarded a Rolls-Royce research fellowship and re-joined the University of Manchester as a Rolls-Royce Research Fellow in September 2019 and became a lecturer in January 2024.

I have published 80+ peer-reviewed papers (Google Scholar) and most of them were published in the top journals in my field. I was awarded the 2020/2021 Faculty of Science and Engineering's Best Research Staff of Year (only 1 per year). I serve as the Royce Technology Platform Lead for Advanced Coating Technology and Performance, the Research Theme Lead for Coatings and Ceramics in the Department of Materials, and National Materials Innovation Strategy Expert Working Group on Surface Engineering. I am a frequent expert panel discussant for Rolls-Royce’s Strategic Surface Engineering Workshops. I have delivered 10+ invited talks in international conferences and authored an invited feature article for IOM3’s flagship magazine "Materials World".  I have secured £1.5 million in competitive research funding, leading several EPSRC and innovated UK funded major projects as Principal Investigator. I am an invited reviewer for 20+ peer-reviewed journals, EPSRC, Royal Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and government funding agencies across the world. 

My research group develops innovative surface engineering and coating solutions for demanding environments. Areas of interest include

1. Microstructural design for durable ceramic coatings. It seeks to leverage thermodynamic design and non-equilibrium processing to create new microstructures with exceptional resistance to fracture and environmental degradation. Example: Acta Materialia, 2025. 288: p. 120870.
2. Response of ceramics and coatings to mechanical and thermal loading, particularly failure behaviour and fracture properties across multiple length scales. It focuses on utilising cutting-edge in-situ micromechanical testing, high-resolution electron microscopy, and atomistic modelling to investigate crack propagation, fracture toughness, and fracture behaviour from the atomic scale to the microstructural scale. The materials of interest include, but are not limited to, thermal barrier coatings, high-entropy ceramics, metastable ceramics, and grain boundaries. The mechanistic understanding developed is used to inform new design strategies that enhance damage tolerance, fracture resistance, and thermo-mechanical reliability of advanced ceramic coatings.  Example: Acta Materialia, 2025. 289: p. 120944.
3. Response of engineering alloys and coatings to extreme environments, particularly high-temperature degradation. The materials of interest include, but are not limited to, additively manufactured high temperature alloys, refractory alloys/coatings, and high entropy alloys/coatings. The understanding gained is translated into the design and development of advanced alloys and coatings with enhanced resistance to environmental degradation and extended service lifetimes. Example: Acta Materialia, 2018. 159: p. 150-162.

Funded PhD opportunities are available for candidates with strong background in material science, mechanical engineering, chemistry or physics. Please contact me for more details.

A couple of PhD projects in my group are available for applciations

• Microstructural Design for Tough Ceramic Coatings
• High Entropy Alloy Coatings for Strong Degradation Resistance

There are many PhD opportunities in my group all year round. Home students can apply for UKRI funded PhD programmes such as DTA and CDT. Outstanding international candidates can apply for full scholarships (e.g. President’s Doctoral Scholarship, Dean's Doctoral Scholarship or The University of Manchester-China Scholarship Council (UoM-CSC) Joint Scholarship) to support PhD study. 

Visiting researchers and students with interest in surface engineering are also welcomed.

Coatings and ceramics

Physics of Materials for 1st year undergraduate students

Advanced Metal Processing for postgraduate students