Dr. Frank Kümmel's research is focused on the correlation between the microstructure and mechanical properties of different metallic materials. During his PhD studies at the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, he examined the deformation and failure mechanisms in ultrafine-grained lamellar metallic composites after static and dynamic loading by advanced microscopy techniques. His work at the TU München is focused on the investigation of newly developed γ/γ’-hardened polycrystalline Ni-based forge alloys. To obtain a deep knowledge of the precipitation kinetics in these alloys during the thermomechanical production process, he is building a new testing machine that enables tension or compression loading at temperatures up to 1200°C in-situ for various instruments at the research neutron source.