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Bragg Centre for Materials Research

Exterior view of the Sir William Henry Bragg Building, on a diagonal.

Bragg Centre for Materials Research

Driving materials innovation

The Bragg Centre for Materials Research connects materials experts to collaborate on research and innovation that benefits society, offering world-class facilities, expertise, funding and development opportunities for academia and industry.

Materials science touches every aspect of modern life. By understanding the atomic structure of materials and how it affects their properties, our interdisciplinary community is helping the UK:

  • rise to the net zero challenge聽
  • meet聽the population鈥檚聽healthcare聽needs聽聽
  • strengthen聽its聽infrastructure, the built environment and transport systems聽
  • develop the high-performance connectivity and computing
  • enhance聽the聽functionality,聽durability聽and sustainability聽of a range of products

We are a founding partner of the聽, the UK鈥檚 national institute for advanced materials research and innovation.

Our work and community

  • Research areas

    Explore our key research areas, spanning energy, healthcare, structural innovations, functional surfaces, electronics and sustainable consumer materials.

  • Experimental facilities

    Learn more about our facilities, designed to support comprehensive materials development and discovery.

  • The Henry Royce Institute

    Understand how we contribute to the Henry Royce Institute through world-leading materials research.

  • Management and governance

    Find out how our external advisors and internal management team help drive our vision and activities.

Our impact stories

Find out how our community is exploring the science of materials to drive innovation, collaboration and real-world impact across industries and disciplines.

  • The Leeds Nanotechnology Cleanroom has supported Optalysys in developing cutting-edge photonic silicon chips, delivering faster, greener high-performance computing for the AI era.

    Senior Experimental Officer, Dr Mark Rosamond operating an Inductively Coupled Plasma Reactive Ion Etcher in the Leeds Nanotechnology Cleanroom.

  • Dr Virginia Pensabene is developing a microfluidic device to improve IVF success rates. Through her spin-out, IVFmicro Ltd, she aims to create a safer, more natural environment for embryo development.

    Dr Virginia Pensabene working in her lab at the 嘟嘟AV.

  • The 嘟嘟AV, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and Oxford Cryosystems have demonstrated that compact Quantum Cascade Lasers could provide a smaller, cheaper and more powerful solution for monitoring plasmas in future fusion power plants.

    Quantum Cascade Terahertz Laser chip (QCL THz) mounted inside the customised Oxford Cryosystems Phenix vacuum chamber at the UK Atomic Energy Authority Culham Campus.

  • Researchers have created neural networks that can quickly analyse recycled plastics using linear rheology, offering a faster and cleaner alternative to traditional testing methods.

    huge pile of waste, with a bulldozer on top

  • Sharing expertise to aid Ukraine's recovery

    Ukrainian engineers joined Leeds academics to progress a project transforming rubble from the war into low-carbon construction materials.

    Three people in a workshop inspect a bucket of small stones; one holds some stones in gloved hands while the others observe.

  • Researchers have developed a new hybrid additive manufacturing process for advanced ceramics, enabling high-performance parts to be produced more quickly, reliably and at lower cost than traditional methods.

    A group of people wearing white lab coats standing together in a laboratory, with scientific equipment and workstations visible in the background.