Prof. Prita’s research group has been working on investigating the links between the microstructure of metals and alloys and their plastic deformation, using a combination of experiments and modelling. Medium Mn­steels comprise the third generation of advanced high strength steels (AHSS), which have a combination of high strength and ductility. These properties are achieved by tailoring a two­phase microstructure, which, during plastic deformation, undergoes deformation by multiple modes, namely twinning, phase transformation and dislocation slip. We show that both twinning and phase transformation can occur depending on the local composition of austenite grains (Fig 1) [2]. Ni based superalloy GTD444, is used to make directionally solidified blades for later stage turbines. Since Boron is added as a grain boundary strengthener, the microchemistry near boundaries and the crystallographic orientation of grains both influence deformation at elevated temperatures. We show that M2B type borides are present near boundaries, where M is Cr, W, and Mo (Fig. 2) [2]. These borides transform into M6C and M23C6 type carbides upon thermal aging, present discretely along the boundary, and prevent inter­granular fracture. Cu­Al alloys are excellent model system to study solute strengthening and the effect of stacking fault energy, which reduces by an order of magnitude as Al content increases from 0 to about 8 wt%. Deformation of miniature tensile samples was carried out, and misorientation developed along twin and high angle boundaries measured (Fig. 3) [3]. This was explained based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of twinned crystals by observing dislocation accumulation near twin boundaries.