About

Emmanuelle Marquis is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. She holds an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Ecole des Mines de Paris (1998) and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University (2002). Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms and transformation pathways for microstructural evolution in metallic alloy systems. She investigates how various external stimuli such as temperature, deformation, irradiation, and corrosion trigger phase transformations, with the ultimate goal of improving and designing resilient structural materials. Her approach relies on state-of-the-art characterization techniques that enable quantification of microstructures from the micron down to the atomic scale. She collaborates with groups in computational and theoretical materials science to complement her experimental work and works with industrial partners and national laboratories. Marquis has held several leadership roles, including Director of the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization and Undergraduate Program Advisor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Her prior experience includes positions at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Oxford, where she was a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow and 3D Atom Probe Research Manager. She has received numerous awards, such as the TMS Brimacombe medalist (2023), NSF CAREER award (2014), and the University of Michigan Faculty Recognition Award (2020). Her contributions to the field are recognized through her participation in professional societies, editorial roles, and her leadership in conferences and committees related to materials science and microanalysis.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Biochemical engineering
• Systems engineering
• Physics
• Data science

Selected publications

• Role of diffusion-induced grain boundary migration during molten salt corrosion of a Ni-30Cr alloy

  ArXiv.org · 2026-04-14

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The response of Ni-Cr alloys to exposure to molten chloride and fluoride salts is typically characterized by Cr dealloying with the formation of a Cr-depleted bi-continuous porous subsurface layer. The exact mechanism behind the loss of Cr over distances unattainable by lattice diffusion alone is still debated. To address this question, two different surface finishes, namely electropolished and sanded, of a Ni-30Cr alloy were exposed to LiCl-KCl-2wt% EuCl3 eutectic salt at 500 °C for 96 hours. In the absence of fast diffusion pathways, dissolution occurred layer by layer and was kinetically controlled by Ni dissolution, as observed over the grain interiors of the electropolished sample. Grain boundaries were subject to diffusion-induced grain boundary migration (DIGM), leading to the formation of pure Ni islands above grain boundaries. This overall behavior contrasted with the sanded surface response that was characterized by several micrometer deep interconnected porosity and complete Cr depletion. DIGM of the dense grain boundaries created by recrystallization of the sanded surface was responsible for the observed sub-surface microstructure. This work unequivocally establishes DIGM as a key mechanism in alloy molten salt corrosion, and microstructure as a decisive contributor to an alloy's corrosion response.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Frontiers of atom probe tomography physics, data processing, and analysis

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-03-10

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Atom probe tomography (APT) fills a crucial need in the characterization workflow of materials by its ability to inform the 3D chemical microstructure at the nanoscale. As with any characterization techniques, APT has strengths and limitations that inform the interpretation of the data. Therefore, a challenge for the materials characterization community, and the APT community in particular, is the need to establish repeatable and reproducible workflows around the APT data acquisition, reconstruction, analysis, and sharing, in order to inform interpretation. Data interpretation also requires the continued development of our understanding of the physical processes responsible for field evaporation. We review recent developments in the experimental analysis of field evaporation and in the modeling of field evaporation leading to new understanding of common artifacts observed in reconstructed data. We then discuss current challenges with data analysis, translation of results, and data interpretation in the absence of community-agreed standards, and therefore, the crucial need for standardization at every stage of APT research, from data collection all the way to data reporting. This perspective is a summary of the invited presentations and discussions that took place during a workshop (August 4-5, 2024, Alexandria, Virginia, USA).

  PublisherDOI

• Frontiers of atom probe tomography physics, data processing, and analysis

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-03-10

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Atom probe tomography (APT) fills a crucial need in the characterization workflow of materials by its ability to inform the 3D chemical microstructure at the nanoscale. As with any characterization techniques, APT has strengths and limitations that inform the interpretation of the data. Therefore, a challenge for the materials characterization community, and the APT community in particular, is the need to establish repeatable and reproducible workflows around the APT data acquisition, reconstruction, analysis, and sharing, in order to inform interpretation. Data interpretation also requires the continued development of our understanding of the physical processes responsible for field evaporation. We review recent developments in the experimental analysis of field evaporation and in the modeling of field evaporation leading to new understanding of common artifacts observed in reconstructed data. We then discuss current challenges with data analysis, translation of results, and data interpretation in the absence of community-agreed standards, and therefore, the crucial need for standardization at every stage of APT research, from data collection all the way to data reporting. This perspective is a summary of the invited presentations and discussions that took place during a workshop (August 4-5, 2024, Alexandria, Virginia, USA).

  PublisherOA PDF

• Role of diffusion-induced grain boundary migration during molten salt corrosion of a Ni-30Cr alloy

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-04-14

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  The response of Ni-Cr alloys to exposure to molten chloride and fluoride salts is typically characterized by Cr dealloying with the formation of a Cr-depleted bi-continuous porous subsurface layer. The exact mechanism behind the loss of Cr over distances unattainable by lattice diffusion alone is still debated. To address this question, two different surface finishes, namely electropolished and sanded, of a Ni-30Cr alloy were exposed to LiCl-KCl-2wt% EuCl3 eutectic salt at 500 °C for 96 hours. In the absence of fast diffusion pathways, dissolution occurred layer by layer and was kinetically controlled by Ni dissolution, as observed over the grain interiors of the electropolished sample. Grain boundaries were subject to diffusion-induced grain boundary migration (DIGM), leading to the formation of pure Ni islands above grain boundaries. This overall behavior contrasted with the sanded surface response that was characterized by several micrometer deep interconnected porosity and complete Cr depletion. DIGM of the dense grain boundaries created by recrystallization of the sanded surface was responsible for the observed sub-surface microstructure. This work unequivocally establishes DIGM as a key mechanism in alloy molten salt corrosion, and microstructure as a decisive contributor to an alloy's corrosion response.

  PublisherDOI

• Recrystallization behavior of additively manufactured CrNiCo and GRX810 alloys

  Materials Characterization · 2026-03-03

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Irradiation-induced grain boundary migration in an ion irradiated Fe-Ni-Cr-Mn alloy

  Scripta Materialia · 2026-01-22

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Unexpected field evaporation sequence in γ-TiAl: Interpreting field evaporation through dynamic bond-breaking processes

  Acta Materialia · 2025-01-20 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  In atom probe tomography (APT), atoms from the surface of a needle shape specimen are evaporated under a high electric field and analyzed via time-of-flight mass spectrometry and position sensitive detection. 3D reconstruction of the atom positions follows a simple projection law, which can sometimes lead to artifacts due to deviation from an assumed ideal evaporation sequence. Here, we revisit the evaporation behavior of [001]-oriented γ -TiAl using a full-dynamics simulation approach empowered by molecular dynamics. Without any knowledge of charge states or assumptions about evaporation fields, we successfully reproduce the disrupted evaporation sequence observed in experiments, where Ti atoms are mostly reported to evaporate early. This effect has commonly been attributed to the lower evaporation field of Ti compared to Al. Instead, the seemingly counterintuitive “preferential” evaporation of the stronger-bonded Ti atoms can be explained by a two-step bond-breaking process where each bond-breaking step requires a smaller external force than that needed for Al for which evaporation happens by simultaneously breaking all bonds. On a more fundamental level, the determination of evaporation by the dynamic sequence of bond breaking – rather than by the sum of all bond energies, a measure that only applies when bonds break simultaneously – calls for a critical re-evaluation of the current models used to predict evaporation fields.

  PublisherDOI

• Correction: Materials laboratories of the future for alloys, amorphous, and composite materials

  MRS Bulletin · 2025-02-28

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Grain boundary segregation and chemical ordering in CoCrFeMnNi multi-principal element alloy

  Journal of Materials Science · 2025-09-12 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Owing to their far-from-dilute compositions, multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) can exhibit unique combinations of engineering properties. As nearly all MPEAs are polycrystalline aggregates, it is necessary to understand the interactions of various elemental species with grain boundaries (GBs). This is of particular importance in extreme environments, such as radiation and elevated temperatures, where such interactions have implications on the properties of MPEAs. Herein, we employ atomistic simulations to generate a series of [001] asymmetric tilt GBs in a model CoCrFeMnNi MPEA and quantify solute interactions and segregation to these boundaries. We employ the Warren-Cowley order parameters to investigate the interplay between GB segregation and chemical short-range order (SRO). At temperatures above 800 K, simulation results reveal the segregation of Cr and Mn to CoCrFeMnNi GBs and show weak dependence of boundary solute excess on GB geometry, at least for the boundaries explored in this work. At temperatures in the range of 673–800 K, formation of domains rich in Cr is observed at GBs in agreement with experimental observations. Quantitative analysis shows that solute excess of various alloying elements decreases rapidly with the increase in temperature in the range of 1000–1200 K. Furthermore, we show that GB regions exhibit SRO characteristics that are distinct from the bulk crystals, leading to spatial variations in SRO. In broad terms, our study highlights the need to account for GB interactions with alloying elements when designing advanced MPEAs with novel chemistries. Graphical Abstract

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Decoupling thermal and irradiation effects on grain boundary segregation

  Materialia · 2025-11-14

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Radiation-induced segregation (RIS) is most often measured by peak solute concentration at a boundary. However, this may give an incomplete picture of segregation quantity and phenomena. Radiation-induced and thermal segregation at grain boundaries was investigated in Fe-9.6at%Cr after 9 MeV Fe 3+ ion irradiation at 400 °C. The experimental results were compared to kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. The study revealed that Cr enrichment (peak segregation) at the grain boundaries was comparable in both the irradiated and unirradiated conditions, although irradiation resulted in broader segregation profiles in both experiments and simulations, indicating an overall increase in grain boundary segregation due to irradiation. This broadening is attributed to back diffusion into the grain interior. While it is an established phenomenon, this study offers a quantitative evaluation using experimental data and KMC modeling. Further, these results emphasize the importance of analyzing the entire segregation profile and decoupling the thermal and irradiation contributions to solute segregation.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Solute Effects on the Oxidation Behavior of Ni Alloys

  NSF · $500k · 2014–2020

Frequent coauthors

• Michael J. Demkowicz

  50 shared

• Wyman-Gordon Forgings

  Los Alamos National Laboratory

  49 shared

• Kelly Zappas

  49 shared

• M. Cai

  Southeast University

  49 shared

• James C. M. Hwang

  Baylor College of Medicine

  49 shared

• Shirley Litzinger

  University of Missouri

  49 shared

• Cheryl Geier

  United States Naval Research Laboratory

  49 shared

• Ellen K Cerreta

  Los Alamos Medical Center

  49 shared

Awards & honors

• TMS Brimacombe medalist (2023)
• J.H. Block Lecture, International Field Emission Society (20…
• Fellow, International Field Emission Society (2020)
• University of Michigan Faculty Recognition Award (2020)
• MSE Department Faculty Award for Outstanding Accomplishment…