It’s hard to find people who share a certain familiarity with and fondness for a specific crystalline phase of a material. But one phase that has almost a cult following is martensite!

Martensite is characterized by a martensitic transformation – a transformation that is diffusionless. In most phase transformations, the atoms move around within the material; they diffuse into different positions. Martensite however, is formed though slight atom repositioning that doesn’t require the atoms to jump around.

Perhaps the most famous martensite is the one that occurs in steels. Here at the Chmielus Lab though, our favorite is the martensite that forms in ferromagnetic and metamagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMA and MSMA). This very special martensite phase is the very reason that our materials are functional (FSMA change shape in a magnetic field and MSMA change temperature in a magnetic field).

To express our gratitude for FSMA and MSMA martensitic transformations and to share our passion, we will be attending the International Conference on Martensitic Transformations from July 9-14 in Chicago, IL. Attending and presenting at this conference will be Dr. Markus Chmielus, Amir Mostafaei, Erica Stevens, and Katerina Kimes. Check back with us mid-July to see how the conference went, or if you’re attending too we would love to meet you!