Since the original publication on the effects of thermal cycling on metallic glasses [1], there have been several studies showing a wide range of property changes. There have also been studies of structural changes. It is already clear that thermal cycling is important, in that it can induce significant improvements in macroscopic mechanical properties such as plasticity, fatigue resistance and impact toughness [2]. We review these (and other) results, sometimes apparently conflicting, we attempt to assess what is now understood, and we identify priorities for the immediate next stages of research.

[1] SV Ketov, YH Sun, S Nachum, Z Lu, A Checchi, AR Beraldin, HY Bai, WH Wang, DV Louzguine-Luzgin, MA Carpenter, AL Greer, Rejuvenation of metallic glasses by non-affine thermal strain, Nature 524 (2015) 200–203.
[2] D Grell, F Dabrock, E Kerscher, Cyclic cryogenic pretreatments influencing the mechanical properties of a bulk glassy Zr‐based alloy, Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct. 41 (2018) 1330–1343.

I have on previous occasions shown how we can be surprised and delighted by new discoveries in steels, which at the same time may be useful. However, my focus in this lecture is purely on some basic science so that a well-founded understanding of mechanisms can lead to ever greater advances. The composite structure that is known colloquially as bainite is arguably the most interesting of all of the essential microstructures that occur in steels, where the manner in which atoms move is seminal to the design of steels. Therefore, I take the liberty to indulge myself and talk only of theory on this occasion.

The race to making smaller and smaller things can arguably be attributed to a talk given by the famous physicist, Richard Feynman, in a lecture he gave at an American Physical Society meeting in 1959. He envisaged new materials synthesized by manipulation of individual atoms – something realized by Don Eiglers group at IBM in 1989. On the way down, and in the spirit of manipulating matter are nanometer scale structures such as quantum dots and nanowires – the latter typically have diameters of a few tens of nanometers and lengths of about microns. In this talk, I will focus on nanowires and their unique properties, and how these can be used to advantage to realise state of the art chemical sensors and offer a possible future quantum computing platform. The talk will discuss the critical role of surface and surface electronic states on electron transport, and how on the one hand species interacting with the surface can dictate transport and signal details of those interactions, while on the other hand, appropriate manipulation of the surface states can reveal near-lossless electron transmission through the nanowires.

In March this year it will be 150 years ago when the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev innovated the Periodic Table for the Elements (1869). (In 1905 Mendeleev became a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). Shortly after Mendeleev´s achievement the German chemist Lothar Meyer published his version of the Periodic Table. This 150 year Periodic Table anniversary will attract a lot of attention world-wide.

The next major progress in the development of the Periodic Table was made in the 1940ies, when Glenn Seaborg, working within the Manhattan Project, failed to observe oxidation states above 4 for the element curium. This failure prompted him to formulate the "actinide hypothesis". Instead of a 6d transition series, the elements beyond actinium (Ac) form a block of 5f elements, directly corresponding to the 4f elements, the rare earths or lanthanides. Thus, at the heavy end of the Elements one finds a second f transition series, the actinides. Therefore, two blocks of f Elements, the 4f and 5f transition series, became established.

In the condensed (metallic) phase the 5f elements, actinides, show many properties which have direct correspondence to the 4f transition metals, the lanthanides. For example the solid state properties of americium and the heavier actinide elements are such that they appear to be almost twins with the lanthanide metals. The reason for this is that for these elements the 5f electrons form localized moments, just like the 4f electrons do for the lanthanides.



However, the behaviour of the lighter actinides, Th-Pu, appear at first to be unique in the Periodic Table, since here the 5f electrons are delocalized – metallic – and actively contribute to the atomic bonding in the condensed phase. Interestingly, later development has demonstrated a remarkable similarity between the solid state properties of compressed Ce and the earlier actinide metals. Here the volume collapse accompanying the pressure induced isostructural γ – α transition in Ce is considered as a Mott transition, namely, from localized to delocalized (metallic) 4f states. An analogous volume collapse behavior can also be identified for the actinide series, where the sudden spectacular volume increase between Pu and Am can be viewed upon as a Mott transition within the 5f shell as a function of the atomic number Z.



On the itinerant side of the Mott transition, the earlier actinides (Pa–Pu) show low symmetry structures at ambient conditions; while across the border, the heavier elements (Am–Cf) assume the dhcp structure, an atomic arrangement typical for the trivalent lanthanide elements with localized 4f magnetic moments.



The strange and unexpected appearance of the δ -phase (fcc crystal structure) in the phase diagram of Pu is another consequence of the borderline behavior of the 5f electrons between a localized or an itinerant appearance.

The race to making smaller and smaller things can arguably be attributed to a talk given by the famous physicist, Richard Feynman, in a lecture he gave at an American Physical Society meeting in 1959. He envisaged new materials synthesized by manipulation of individual atoms – something realized by Don Eiglers group at IBM in 1989. On the way down, and in the spirit of manipulating matter are nanometer scale structures such as quantum dots and nanowires – the latter typically have diameters of a few tens of nanometers and lengths of about microns. In this talk, I will focus on nanowires and their unique properties, and how these can be used to advantage to realise state of the art chemical sensors and offer a possible future quantum computing platform. The talk will discuss the critical role of surface and surface electronic states on electron transport, and how on the one hand species interacting with the surface can dictate transport and signal details of those interactions, while on the other hand, appropriate manipulation of the surface states can reveal near-lossless electron transmission through the nanowires.

In Reactive Materials exothermic reactions between components result in pronounced evolution of energy in short period of time. In the last decade, a gradual shift to applied research has led to the development of a number of unconventional processes based on exothermic reactions that allow simultaneous synthesis and consolidation of porous combustion products. Pressure assisted thermal explosion, TE, mode of Self-Propagating High Temperature Synthesis, SHS, results in dense products in cases when the heat evolved during TE and pressure applied are sufficient for consolidation.

SHS/TE-based Reactive Forging (RF) has been developed: self-sustained reaction is ignited by rapid heat transfer from preheated press rams to the exothermic blend, and uni-axial pressure is applied. Combined with Short Distance Infiltration (SDI) approach, RF provides conditions for fabrication of interpenetrating phase in situ composites with binary (Al₂O₃, TiB₂, TiC) or ternary (MgAl₂O₄, Ti₃SiC₂, Ti₃AlC₂, Ti₂AlC), intermetallics (NiAl, TiAl.NiTi), intermetallic-ceramic and metal-ceramic composites (MgB₂-Mg, Mg₂Si-Mg, Ti/Nb-Al₂O₃, TiNi-Al₂O₃, NiAl-Al₂O₃). Compared to traditional melt infiltration, SDI has the advantage of the considerably shorter infiltration distances (μm vs. mm/cm). The RF-SDI approach has also been successful in fabrication ceramic matrix-diamond grinding wheels, ceramics nozzles, light armor tiles, sputtering targets.

Nanostructuring of powder blends results in lower ignition temperatures, T_ig, can be used for ignition of high T_ig blends and thus for fabrication of multicomponent materials. RF approach employing exothermic inserts and "chemical furnace" approach can be used for consolidation of refractory materials. Shape Charge Liners (SCL) based on Use of reactive materials and especially those with high specific weight can improve the performance of Shape Charge Liners (SCL). Simultaneous synthesis and consolidation of reaction products employing pressure assisted SHS is a "green", cost effective and thus perspective fabrication route of structural parts.