Role at ANSTO
Dr Alan Xu is a material scientist who specialises in understanding the effect of radiation damage on materials. The majority of Dr Xu’s research is focused on materials for nuclear fission and fusion reactors which is emulated by irradiating samples with either gamma rays, neutrons or ions. As such, Dr Xu works on a wide range of materials used in different parts of the nuclear fuel cycle and makes use of electron microscopic techniques as well as micro-mechanical testing to gauge the changes in physical and mechanical properties before and after irradiation.
Expertise
Focus-ion beam milling, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atom probe tomography, radiation damage, nuclear materials, electron backscattered diffraction analysis, micro-tensile testing, micro-mechanical testing