Seminar Speaker: Scott J. McCormack, UC Davis

“In-situ phase equilibria and thermal expansion up to 3000˚C and beyond”

Abstract

In-situ X-ray diffraction in conjunction with laser-heated, levitated samples and a Quadrupole Lamp Furnace (QLF) have been used for studying material systems, in air, at high temperatures (up to 3000 ˚C). These in-situ devices have allowed for the elucidation of new crystal structures, anisotropic coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE’s), phase transformations and complex phase equilibria. Here, I will focus on two key experiments conducted within the HfO2-Ta2O5-TiO2 ternary system and the McCormack labs new directions to even higher temperatures: (i) The elucidation of the HfO2-Ta2O5 binary in-situ up to 3000 ˚C (ii) Directions of zero thermal expansion in the orthorhombic HfTiO4 and (iii) the McCormack Labs new directions into carbides, nitrides and diborides and to even high temperature (up to ~4000 ˚C).

Speaker Biography

Scott J. McCormack grew up in the small fishing village of Eden on the Far South Coast of Australia. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honors (H1), majoring in Materials Engineering at the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia in 2013. He then completed his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, the USA in 2019. He is now an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Davis, USA. His research focuses on the interplay of crystal symmetry and energetic stability of materials in extreme environments (ultra-high temperature) for applications in hypersonic platforms, nuclear fission/fusion and space exploration.