I conducted my PhD thesis on the commercial problem of glass contact refractory corrosion. In commercial float lines, there exists a triple junction between the glass melt, the sidewall refractories and the atmosphere. At this point there is a high rate of sidewall corrosion, which leads to unwanted particles ending up in the glass (very unwanted in terms of quality) and also the need for a cold repair of the furnace (very costly). In order to study this problem, I created a model refractory analogue, based on a similar chemical make up (alumina-zirconia phases bonded by a silicate matrix) however, in order to increase the reaction rates (the corrosion) I chose to use alumina and zirconia nanoparticles. The techniques I used was Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) and Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), in particular an advanced form of SAXS known as Anomalous SAXS (ASAXS) which provides an element specific contrast in the scattering patterns.

I am currently working along side Dr Valeri Petkov at Central Michigan University on the structure of various types of glasses and amorphous solids. One area of specific interest is in the structure of fast ionic conduction glasses - specifically those exhibiting the mixed glass former effect. More information on my current research interests can be found in the relevant glass modelling page.

PHOTO ABOVE: Dr Amin Hoell of the HMI in Berlin and I working on beamline 7T-MPW-SAXS at BESSY during 2006.