Professor Bob Freer

Bob Freer graduated in Physics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1972 and subsequently obtained his MSc and PhD from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He then spent two years as Research Fellow at Strathclyde University and three years as Research Fellow in the Experimental Petrology Unit of the Grant Institute of Geology at Edinburgh University. After four years as Senior Lecturer then Principal Lecturer at (what is now) Staffordshire University, he joined UMIST in 1986 as Lecturer in Ceramics. He was subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer, Reader and then to a Personal Chair in Ceramics in 1999. He was awarded DSc by UMIST in 1998. From 2000-2004 he was Head of the UMIST and then the joint University of Manchester/UMIST Materials Science Centre. He is currently Deputy Head of the School of Materials, responsible for Materials Science.

His main research interests are microstructure-property relationships in functional ceramics, particularly

• (i) high frequency dielectrics for mobile telephone applications,
• (ii) thermoelectric ceramics for energy applications,
• (iii) multifunctional ceramic, and
• (iv) ceramics that relay on grain boundary processes for their operation.

Extensive use is made of transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron high resolution X-ray diffraction to understand the microstructure control of electrical properties. Atomistic modelling of structures and properties is undertaken for functional ceramics. There is active collaboration with groups in Europe and Asia.

• Microwave dielectric ceramics for mobile telephone applications
• Thermoelectric ceramics for energy applications
• Multifunctional ceramics
• Microstructure-property relationships in ceramics at elevated temperatures and pressures
• Interface control of properties in oxide ceramics
• Grain boundary transport processes.

• Feridoon Azough, Robert Freer and Bernard Schaffer, Direct Observation of A-site Vacancies and Twin Boundary Structure in La2/3TiO3 Based Ceramics Using HAADF/STEM, J Am Ceram Soc, 93 [5] 1237-1240 (2010)
• Feridoon Azough, Robert Freer, Michael Thrall, Robert Cernik, Floriana Tuna, David Collison, Microstructure and Properties of Co-, Ni-, Zn-, Nb- and W-modified Multiferroic BiFeO3 Ceramics, J Europ Ceram Soc 30 (3), 727-736 (2010)
• T. Kolodiazhnyi, G. Annino, M. Spreitzer, T. Taniguchi, R. Freer, F. Azough, A. Panariello and W. Fitzpatrick, Development of Al2O3 -TiO2 composite ceramics for high-power millimeter-wave applications, Acta Materialia, 57, 3402-3409 (2009)
• F Azough, W Wang and R Freer, The Crystal Structure of LaAlO3-Stabilized La2/3TiO3 Ceramics: A HRTEM Investigation, J Amer Ceram Soc, 92, 2093-2098 (2009)
• R Freer and F Azough, Microstructural Engineering of Microwave Dielectric Ceramics, J Europ Ceram Soc, 28 [7], 1433-1441 (2008)
• I. N. Lin, C. T. Chia, H. L. Liu, H. F. Cheng, R. Freer, M Barwick and F Azough, Dielectric and Spectroscopic Behaviour of Perovskite Ba(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3-Ba(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 Microwave Dielectric Ceramics, J Applied Physics, 102 (4), article 044112 (2007)
• G Ravi, F Azough, R Freer, R Cernik and AMT Bell, High Temperature Structural Phase Transition in Ca0.7Ti0.7La0.3Al0.3O3: Investigation by Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction, J Am Ceram Soc, 90, 3947-3952 (2007)
• R J Cernik, R Freer, C Leach, C Mongkolkachit, P Barnes, S Jacques , K Pile, A Wander, A direct correlation between ferrite microstructure and electrical resistivity, J Applied Physics, 101, article 104912, 6 pages (2007)
• J Fan and R Freer, Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy of SnO2 Based Varistors, Appl Phys Letts, 90, article 093511 (2007)