The Department of Mechanical Engineering was honored to host Professor Philippe Marcus, Director of Research Emeritus at CNRS and Scientific Advisor at Chimie ParisTech, for a distinguished lecture on the forefront of corrosion science.

In his talk, Prof. Marcus explored how a deep understanding of passive oxide films at the atomic and nanometric scales is essential for designing next-generation corrosion-resistant alloys - especially for demanding energy applications. He illustrated the power of combining surface analytical techniques (XPS, ToF-SIMS, STM), electrochemical measurements, and DFT simulations to study passivation and localized corrosion in stainless steels and compositionally complex alloys.

With over 450 publications and numerous international awards including the Marcel Pourbaix Award (2024), Prof. Marcus’s visit was a true inspiration for researchers and students alike. We thank him for sharing his pioneering work with the CityU community.