Diana Edwards, a PhD student in the Interface Analysis Centre ( IAC), has won the South West regional heat of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining ( IoM3) Young Persons’ Lecture Competition. In front of an audience of peers at the ECM² facility in Port Talbot, Diana spoke about a project entitled ‘Investigation of lime mortar/tesserae adhesion in medieval mosaics from the Basilica di San Marco (Venice)’. This research has sprung out of a longstanding collaboration between Professors Enrico Ciliberto (Università degli Studi di Catania, Italy) and Geoff Allen (IAC).

Diana, who won the local West of England round (organised by the West of England Metals and Materials Association) in February, is now through to the national final in April, which is hosted by The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers in London. She will compete against six other regional winners for the cash prize and medal, and for the opportunity to represent the UK in the World final.

The aim of the Young Persons’ Lecture Competition is to provide an atmosphere of friendly competition for young scientists and engineers in materials, minerals, mining, packaging and clay technology, and to help them improve their presentation skills by addressing an informed audience. The competition is open to students and graduates up to 28 years of age from industry and academia.