Dr Alice Macente

Profile

I am the Experimental Officer for a Zeiss SEM EVO 15 and a Zeiss Versa 410 X-ray Computed Tomography system located in the School of Civil Engineering.  

I obtained my PhD in Geosciences in Edinburgh in 2017, during which I conducted experiments on fluid-rock interactions using XCT to monitor the microscale evolution of porosity and pore connectivity of the rock analogues over time. I was then employed at Stanford University as postdoctoral research scholar in the Geophysics department, where I primarily focused on modelling permeability flow through porous media using Lattice-Boltzman Modeling.

In 2018, I started as a postdoc/XCT manager in a joint position at the University of Glasgow and Strathclyde. Here I was responsible for an XCT system, which was applied to a great range of materials, spanning from civil and mechanical engineering to geological samples, archaeology and forensic anthropology. I was also conducting research using XCT on geo-materials in solving geological and geotechnical challenges.

Responsibilities

• SEM - XCT data acquisition, safety and maintenance, user training, data processing and consultancy

Research interests

My research focusses on the understanding of fluid-solid interaction mechanisms, across different geological and civil engineering media. As part of this, I conduct a range of experiments to monitor the dynamic evolution of microstructural changes (physical and chemical) over time using XCT. For this purpose, I combine the use of XCT with in-situ rigs, which allows me to monitor the load (uniaxial compression/tension/torsion) as well as temperature changes, while imaging. This provides a comprehensive overview of the microstructural changes evolving in 4D in the samples during dynamic conditions. I also used a range of analysis techniques, from Lattice-Boltzman Modelling to Digital Volume Correlation, to understand permeability change and strain evolution in the samples during the experiments. 

 I enjoy working in a multidisciplinary team, and I have applied XCT to a diverse range of materials and scientific challenges, hence I am capable to work with researchers from various scientific backgrounds. I am always happy to collaborate and I encourage the use of non- destructive imaging methods to solve current scientific challenges. For example, I am also currently involved on a side project with StrathWide, where I work alongside early career researchers in neuroscience and biomedical engineering. 

Research groups and institutes

• Materials and Structures