Mission

Research at the Laboratory for Mechanical Metallurgy addresses the science and engineering of structural metallic materials, with particular focus on advanced materials including composites, microcellular metals and high-performance alloys. Research spans the entire spectrum from materials processing to the exploration of links between the microstructure and the mechanical or physical properties of metallic materials for both structural and functional applications. 
 A significant thrust in our research is on the infiltration process and the materials it produces. We investigate the fundamentals of infiltration, including underlying capillary and transport phenomena, and we use it as a basis for the design and exploration of novel materials, including metal matrix composites and microcellular metals and alloys. 
Other main thrust areas are in multiphase metallic materials, including metal matrix composites, microcellular porous metals, and multiphase alloys. We study their processing and their mechanical behaviour, including their plastic deformation, fracture and embrittlement, and investigate phase-scale properties and phenomena that govern their micromechanical behaviour.
We also conduct collaborative research with industry on alloys and intermetallics, with focus on physical properties, mechanical behaviour, physical metallurgy, micromechanics and microstructural optimization. 
 
 For more information on our research, click on the "lmm.epfl.ch" link that you'll find near the top of the column to the right of this text.

Biography

Andreas Mortensen earned his engineering diploma in 1980 from the Ecole des Mines de Paris and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1986. He is currently Professor and director of the Laboratory for Mechanical Metallurgy of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). At EPFL he has also served successively as dean of doctoral studies, director of the institute of materials, dean for research, vice-provost and then vice-president for research. Prior to joining EPFL in 1997 he was, from 1986 to 1996, a member of the faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, holding the successive titles of ALCOA Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor.  He was also a postdoctoral researcher at Nippon Steel in 1986, and an invited professor at the Ecole des Mines in Paris in 1995-1996. He is co-author of two monographs, around 200 refereed scientific publications and 15 patents. He has served academia, industry and government, on committees or as a consultant, and has edited several journals and books. His most recent awards are an ERC advanced grant in 2012, the 2016 Grande Médaille of the Société Française de Métallurgie and an SNSF advanced grant in 2022.