About

Marta Pozuelo is an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. Her research primarily focuses on the atomic-scale understanding and control of deformation mechanisms involved in the mechanical behavior of high-performance metallic materials. She relies on cutting-edge characterization techniques based on in-situ Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy (SEM, TEM). Her current research emphasizes understanding the recrystallization mechanisms in refractory multi-principal element alloys. Dr. Pozuelo holds a Ph.D. in Physics and Materials Science from Complutense University of Madrid, obtained in 2004, and has been recognized with a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship from 2005 to 2007.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Composite material
• Metallurgy
• Chemical physics
• Physics
• Statistical physics
• Thermodynamics
• Psychology
• Mechanics

Selected publications

• Microstructural and mechanical characterization of the NbMoTaW refractory multi-principal element alloy after hot forging

  Journal of Materials Science · 2025-08-26 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Microstructurally resolved electrochemical evolution of mechanical- and irradiation-induced damage in nuclear alloys

  npj Materials Degradation · 2024-08-19 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract There is a need for high-throughput, scale-relevant, and direct electrochemical analysis to understand the corrosion behavior and sensitivity of nuclear materials that are exposed to extreme (high pressure, temperature, and radiation exposure) environments. We demonstrate the multi-scale, multi-modal application of scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) to electrochemically profile corrosion alterations in nuclear alloys in a microstructurally resolved manner. Particularly, we identify that both mechanically deformed and irradiated microstructures show reduced charge-transfer resistance that leads to accelerated oxidation. We highlight that the effects of mechanical deformation and irradiation are synergistic, and may in fact, superimpose each other, with implications including general-, galvanic-, and/or irradiation-activated stress-corrosion cracking. Taken together, we highlight the ability of non-destructive, electrochemical interrogations to ascertain how microstructural alterations result in changes in the corrosion tendency of a nuclear alloy: knowledge which has implications to rank, qualify and examine alloys for use in nuclear construction applications.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• In-situ observation of ‘chemical’ strengthening induced by compositional fluctuations in Nb-Mo-Ta-W

  Scripta Materialia · 2023-09-07 · 11 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Outstanding Hardening Effect of High-Temperature Aging of Alloy Ti-6al-4v Composite Reinforced with Tic

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2023-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Significant hardening effect of high-temperature aging of alloy Ti-6Al-4V composite reinforced with TiC

  Materials & Design · 2023 · 25 citations

  • Materials science
  • Composite material
  • Metallurgy

  Titanium alloy composites, reinforced with a light second phase and made using inexpensive powder metallurgy, attract considerable attention due to the directness of their intentional hardness increase without compromising low weight of materials. In this study the metal-matrix composites (MMC) of Ti-6Al-4V alloy reinforced with light and hard particles of TiC (up to 80%, vol.) were made using blended elemental powder metallurgy of hydrogenated titanium. Post-sintering solution treatment for 45 min at 880 °C and 1000 °C and water quenching followed by the 5 hrs. aging at 550 °C was used to additionally refine the microstructure and properties of MMC. For the duration of thermal exposure throughout solution treatment and additional aging the matrix and reinforcement phase underwent distinct structural changes that modified the mechanical properties of materials. It has been shown that the used reinforcement presents an exceptional opportunity for hardening of Ti-based composites without compromising its low specific weigh. It can increase the hardness of material by more than 40% due to the ability of TiC to chemically react with the matrix to form a strong interfacial bond and its ability to form hard compounds of Ti2C and Ti3AlC in the expense of the relatively soft matrix alloy.

  PublisherDOI

• In-Situ Observation of ‘Chemical’ Strengthening Induced by Compositional Fluctuations in Nb-Mo-Ta-W

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2023-01-01 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Microscale deformation controlled by compositional fluctuations in equiatomic Nb–Mo–Ta–W alloys

  Materials Science and Engineering A · 2022 · 12 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Materials science
  • Metallurgy
  • Composite material
  PublisherDOI

• Microscale Deformation Controlled by Compositional Fluctuations in Equiatomic Nb-Mo-Ta-W Alloys

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2022-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Separation of Time Scales of Plastic Instabilities During Microscale Deformation of bcc Fe

  Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A · 2021-07-17 · 3 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Simulating the mechanisms of serrated flow in interstitial alloys with atomic resolution over diffusive timescales

  Nature Communications · 2020 · 35 citations

  • Materials science
  • Mechanics
  • Chemical physics

  The Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect is a phenomenon by which plastic slip in metallic materials becomes unstable, resulting in jerky flow and the onset of inhomogeneous deformation. The PLC effect is thought to be fundamentally caused by the dynamic interplay between dislocations and solute atoms. However, this interplay is almost always inaccessible experimentally due to the extremely fine length and time scales over which it occurs. In this paper, simulations of jerky flow in W-O interstitial solid solutions reveal three dynamic regimes emerging from the simulated strain rate-temperature space: one resembling standard solid solution strengthening, another one mimicking solute cloud formation, and a third one where dislocation/solute coevolution leads to jerky flow as a precursor of dynamic strain aging. The simulations are carried out in a stochastic framework that naturally captures rare events in a rigorous manner, providing atomistic resolution over diffusive time scales using no adjustable parameters.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• F. Carreño

  Providence College

  18 shared

• O.A. Ruano

  18 shared

• Suneel Kodambaka

  16 shared

• Sergey V. Prikhodko

  University of California, Los Angeles

  14 shared

• Robert F. Hicks

  10 shared

• C.M. Cepeda-Jiménez

  10 shared

• Jaime Marian

  University of California, Los Angeles

  8 shared

• J.‐M. Yang

  7 shared

Awards & honors

• Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship (2005-2007)