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Annual Awards Winners: Dr Yan Cui

Tue, 28 May, 2019

The Welding Institute's Annual Awards will take place on 2 July at The Wellcome Sanger Institute in Hinxton near Cambridge, rewarding outstanding contributions to materials joining and welding technology, celebrating enterprise and acknowledging endeavour.

Joining this year's winners is welding engineer and metallurgist Dr Yan Cui, who will receive the Applied Technology Award (in memory of Larke-Lillicrap).  The award is given annually to the individual or team who has had most influence or impact upon the practical application of novel welding or joining knowledge or technology. Since 2009, this award has combined the Sir William J Larke Medal and the Sir Charles Lillicrap Medal.

Dr Yan Cui

Having achieved a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (Welding Metallurgy) from the University of Tennessee in 2004, Dr Yan Cui continued his studies as a research associate undertaking a number of projects including the investigation of an optical metallographic method and a Cryo-Crack fractographic method for characterisation and quantification of the damage in weld metal and base metal extracted from high energy piping.

After receiving his M.S. degree in Welding Metallurgy from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, he joined the Welding Department in IMR as an Assistant Researcher to develop the advanced materials used in the hydro turbine industry.

Prior to his academic research career, Dr Cui worked as an Assistant Engineer for Shenyang Boilers and Pressure Vessels Research and Inspection Institute to inspect of construction of pressure vessels. During this five years, Dr Cui worked in several factories inspecting the pressure vessels designed and manufactured by factories from mechanical testing, chemical analysis, welding process evaluation, welding process in the manufacture, NDE, and leak testing.

Dr Cui joined GE Power in 2007 and now is a Senior Welding Engineer working on research and development, supporting production as well as evaluating suppliers for qualification. Research work has included the design of many nickel-based super alloys applied in the investment casting, weld filler metal, braze filler metal, and additive manufacturing in gas turbine HGP components, and the developed of many novel welding and brazing processes to meet the production requirements, increase life cycle, and decrease the cost.

During a very varied career, Dr Cui has developed many novel alloys with excellent weldability; supported gas turbine welding/brazing fabrication, failure analysis and qualification evaluation; undertaken R & D metallurgical projects in welding, brazing, corrosion, creep, fatigue, failure analysis, and mechanical behaviour and developed expertise in the weld ability of carbon steels, alloy steels, Cr-Mo steels, stainless steels (austenitic, martensitic, and duplex stainless steels), and nickel-and cobalt-based alloys.

Dr Cui has obtained 120+ patent application publications and 44 granted patents issued by USPTO within 11 years, and 23 granted patents by Europe and China.

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