Scientific Paper Award 2024 Recognises Outstanding Publications

Researchers from the UK, South Korea and America are honoured for their work with Oxford Instruments detectors.

Left to right: First prize winner: Fazlollah Sadeghi from Brunel University UK, Second prize winner: Seung Choi from Seoul National University South Korea , Third prize winner: Ben Rider-Stokes from The Open University UK.

The Oxford Instruments NanoAnaylsis Scientific Paper Award 2024 has been presented to scientists from the UK, South Korea and America for their work. The award recognises the exceptional, cutting-edge research published in peer-reviewed journals in 2023 that included data and results acquired with Oxford Instruments EBSD, EDS, WDS detectors or OmniProbe nanomanipulators.

• First Prize: Winner of a $500 Amazon™ gift card, is Fazlollah Sadeghi from Brunel University UK for his paper Evolution of centerline carbides in a martensitic stainless steel slab during reheating treatment using OmniProbe, Ultim Max and Symmetry detectors.

• Second Prize: Winner of $300 Amazon™ gift card is Seung Choi from Seoul National University South Korea for his paper Microstructural and crystallographic evolution of palaeognath (Aves) eggshells using a Symmetry detector

• Third Prize: Winner of $200 Amazon™ gift card, Ben Rider-Stokes from The Open University UK for his paper Impact mixing among rocky planetesimals in the early Solar System from angrite oxygen isotopes, using Ultim Max, Ultim Extreme and Symmetry detectors.

• Highly Commended Prize: Junliang Lui from University of Wisconsin-Madison USA for his paper Origin of age softening in the refractory high-entropy alloys, using OmniProbe, Nordlys, X-max detectors.

“I was really pleased to see the sheer number, range and quality of papers submitted for this our second year of the Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis Scientific Paper Awards,” said Dr Matt Hiscock, Head of Product Science at Oxford Instruments and chief judge. "We certainly had a difficult task to select the winners from such tough competition. I would like to thank everyone who took time to submit a paper entry. This competition clearly highlights the cutting-edge work that is being carried out across a wide range of applications."
“We look forward to reading and judging the entries for next year's Oxford Instruments Scientific Paper Awards".

The Paper Award First Prize: Evolution of centerline carbides in a martensitic stainless steel slab during reheating treatment.

In this research, Fazlollah Sadeghi and his colleagues Tahereh Zargar, Sang Hoon Kim, Yoon-Uk Heo, Jae Sang Lee, Chang Hee Yim, aimed to investigate the evolution of centerline carbides in a continuously cast martensitic stainless steel after applying a homogenization heat treatment. Due to the segregation of alloying elements into the final melt during solidification, a complex structure of carbide’s network is formed at the final melt. They were able to locate, identify, characterize, and post-process various types of carbides including orthorhombic M₇C₃, cubic M₂₃C₆, and cubic M₆C via advanced characterization techniques attached to the scanning and transmission electron microscope such as EDS, WDS, and EBSD provided by Oxford Instruments. Results have shown a decomposition of Cr₇C₃ to Cr₂₃C₆ and formation of Mo₆C at the interface with a specific orientation relationship. The microstructure of the centerline segregation consists of retained g-austenite, residual d-ferrite and carbide structures surrounded by α-martensite matrix.

The Paper Award Second Prize: Microstructural and crystallographic evolution of palaeognath (Aves) eggshells.

The palaeognath birds’ phylogeny has been recently revised significantly due to the advancement of genomics, providing an opportunity to trace the evolution of modern dinosaur (bird) eggshells.

In this study, Seung Choi and his colleagues Sheng Fen, Mark E Hauber, Lucas J Legendre, Noe-Heon Kim, Yuong-Nam Lee, David J Varricchio, eggshells of all major clades of Palaeognathae (including extinct birds such as moa) are analysed with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), which provides detailed microstructural and crystallographic information for eggshells. The palaeognath eggshells could be categorized into ostrich-, rhea-, and tinamou-style morphotypes and rhea-style eggshell appears ancestral form, while respective ostrich-style and tinamou-style morphotypes are interpreted as convergent evolutions. The implications are not only helpful for understanding evolution of modern dinosaur eggshells, but also aid other disciplines such as zooarchaeology.

The Paper Award Third Prize: Impact mixing among rocky planetesimals in the early Solar System from angrite oxygen isotopes.

The timing of dynamical events and the formation timing of the gas giants remains unclear

In this study B. G. Rider-Stokes, R. C. Greenwood, M. Anand, L. F. White, I. A. Franchi, V. Debaille, S. Goderis, L. Pittarello, A. Yamaguchi, T. Mikouchi & P. Claeys at the Open University, studied the microstructure of olivine in a meteorite (through EBSD) that had been measured for oxygen isotopic compositions. The olivine revealed multiple orientations and triple grain boundaries, indicative of recrystallization. This, alongside the isotopic disequilibrium, implied that the olivine formed in a different location in the Solar System compared to the rest of the sample.

It was hypothesized that the meteorite experienced planetary mixing induced by the formation of Jupiter, providing a statistical constraint on its birth.