Postgraduate research is an integral part of our work in CREST. To date we have supervised, in conjunction with industrial partners, over 20 students to both MPhil and PHD levels.
Our postgraduate students have received funding from a variety of sources for example IRC, EI, TU Dublin Fiosraigh.
See below for a snapshot of the great work being carried out by our current students.
Justynne joined the CREST Team in 2020 and is carrying out her research on titanium alloys for biomedical applications. This is a fast growing area in the medical device industry.
Individuals who are impacted by underlying bone diseases have a need for orthopaedic implant materials, however there is an issue with the necessity of revision surgeries due to implant failure.
A promising approach to counteract this is in the development of an implant with nano-rough surface topography that is comparable to bone. This enhances the mechanical interlocking between the bone and implant, while stimulating bone cell growth and osseointegration.
This can be achieved electrochemically by anodisation of titanium alloys, resulting in the formation of nanotubes.
Aaron joined CREST in 2020 and is carrying out his research on the synthesis and characterisation of Polyurethane coatings using nanoscratch and optical profilimetry techniques. Polyurethane coatings are used in a wide range of industries.
The Nanoscratch, CB500 Nanoscratch mechanical tester, is used to characterise the sample hardness, adhesion, coefficient of friction, and surface failure of a sample.
The optical profilimeter is used to characterise the surface profile of the surface of a sample.
See below for a sample of the presentations/posters that our postgraduate students have presented during the course of their research.
1. Work presented by Aaron Byrne at the 20th Annual Science research Day in TU Dublin Tallaght on 09/05/2022.