New forms of materials can be made using extreme pressures via diamond anvil cells.

The hexagonal form of sp3 bonded carbon is predicted to be harder than 'normal' cubic diamond. We can make tiny amounts of this new form of diamond and want to know if it really is harder than diamond.

This project focussed on the creation of novel hybrid boron nitride materials by utilizing advanced green techniques of mechanochemistry and high-pressure methods. 

To understand defects in metal-semiconductor alloys, specifically GeSn in this project, to help making better alloy films and devices.

In experiments, measuring the hardness of a very hard material is fundamentally challenging. We aim to study the physical mechanics behind nanoindentation measurements to help better measure superhard materials.