UFSCar PhD Student Receives Bernhard Gross Award for Best Oral Presentation at “Symposium O: Surface Engineering – Functional Coatings and Modified Surfaces” during the XXIII B-MRS Meeting

    Ana Larissa Soares Cruz, a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering (PPGCEM/DEMa/UFSCar), received the award for Best Oral Presentation at “Symposium O: Surface Engineering – Functional Coatings and Modified Surfaces” during the XXIII B-MRS Meeting, held in Salvador (Bahia, Brazil). The awarded work, titled “LASER Surface Remelting to Restore Corrosion Resistance in Sulfide-Compromised Austenitic Stainless Steels”, was developed during her master’s studies at PPGCEM, under the supervision of Prof. Guilherme Yuuki Koga and Prof. Piter Gargarella. The research highlights the use of LASER processing to restore the corrosion resistance of stainless steels affected by sulfide inclusions.

    Ana Larissa Soares Cruz, PhD student at PPGCEM-UFSCar, received the Bernhard Gross Award for Best Oral Presentation at the “Surface Engineering – Functional Coatings and Modified Surfaces” symposium during the XXIII B-MRS Meeting, held in Salvador (BA) from September 28 to October 2, 2025.

    The awarded work, titled “LASER Surface Remelting to Restore Corrosion Resistance in Sulfide-Compromised Austenitic Stainless Steels”, was developed during her master’s under the supervision of Dr. Guilherme Yuuki Koga and Dr. Piter Gargarella, and was later published in Electrochimica Acta, an international reference in the field of corrosion.

    The research highlights the use of LASER processing, specifically the LASER Surface Remelting technique, to restore the corrosion resistance of stainless steels affected by deleterious manganese sulfide (MnS) inclusions.