My research at Manchester has focused on the structure, properties and applications of ferroelectric ceramics. I have studied the nonlinear dielectric and piezoelectric properties of such materials, using these as a means to understand the underlying polarisation and electromechanical coupling mechanisms. In recent years, I have employed a combination of ‘in-situ’ x-ray and neutron diffraction methods to quantify the intrinsic (lattice strain) and extrinsic (domain switching) contributions to electric field-induced strain. The coupling between these two mechanisms via inter-granular residual stress has been identified as a key feature of their behaviour. Current research projects are concerned with lead-free piezoelectric ceramics, high temperature ferroelectrics, energy storage dielectrics and the use of digital image correlation methods for ferroelectric materials characterisation.