ABOUT MATERIALS RESEARCH

Materials Research at Karlstad University has a long tradition as a strong research group. The core of Materials Research are scientists in Materials Engineering, Materials Physics, Physical Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering. Collaborations and cooperations with other Universities, research institutes and companies are important and intense.

 

In all, there are around 40 persons active in Materials Research. A strong multi-disciplinary collaboration has been developed in the group with research activities ranging from fundamental materials research to applied research and industrial applications, on length scales ranging from atomic and nano levels to micro and macro levels.

The research within Materials Research includes studies on

  • Advanced steels: microstructure, tribology and fatigue,
  • Additive manufacturing (AM),
  • Carbon nanotubes and nanofibers,
  • Molecular, perovskite and Si-based solar cell materials, as well as
  • Semiconductor surface structures and nanocrystals

The research group has strong external funding from many different sources, both national and international. It has been prioritized since the start of the University in 1999 as a strong research group and through a special funding program for strong research groups. In the last years, the Faculty has given continued support to Materials Research as a prioritized research group.

Materials Research at Karlstad University is structured in five thematic areas. They are:

  • Mechanical properties of high-performance materials
  • Additive manufacturing and new materials
  • Solar Energy Materials
  • Surface Physics and Nanomaterials
  • Theoretical Materials Research

Theoretical Materials Research is a cross-disciplinary research area. Computations and simulations of materials properties is one of the pillars of Materials Research and is an area in strong development at Karlstad University. Such activities are ongoing and planned in the other thematic areas.

The thematic areas share advanced research infrastructure for the experimental characterization of materials for microscopy, spectroscopy, materials synthesis, etc. A list of available instruments and equipment can be found under the link Experimantal Resources.