Conference Programme

Conference Programme

A full programme will be published once we have received the abstracts.

Prominent FSW Researchers/Speakers attending IFWC 2026

Laurent Dubourg, CEO, Stirweld

In 1998, Dr Dubourg joined IREPA Laser at Strasbourg, France, where he held a R&D engineer position. He worked on the laser welding of aluminium. He got his PhD in 2002. The topic of his PhD thesis related to the development of aluminium laser surface cladding. In 2003, he joined National Research Centre Canada. He was responsible for aluminium welding processes by laser and FSW (Friction Stir Welding). In 2010, he joined the Institute Maupertuis team in Rennes, France, as a business development manager on FSW. In 2017, Dr Dubourg co-founded as CEO the STIRWELD company to make FSW accessible by reducing drastically the process cost and making user friendly its application.  

Richard Townsend, Commercial and Innovation Lead, Element Six

Richard Townsend leads Element Six’s Friction Stir Welding (FSW) business, driving both commercial strategy and innovation. Element Six is at the forefront of developing PCBN (polycrystalline cubic boron nitride) and synthetic diamond composite tools that are transforming the joining of steel and aluminium through the FSW process. In collaboration with The Welding Institute (TWI), Element Six has demonstrated exceptional tool life and weld quality, enabling high-integrity joints for the joining of steel. Richard is passionate about fostering partnerships with customers and industry partners for the adoption of FSW and has a background of driving successful technology adoption over the last 20+ years.

Prof Dr Jorge Fernandez dos Santos, R&D and Innnovation at Stirtec GmbH and Professor for Solid State Joining Processes

Prof Dr Jorge Fernandez dos Santos is R&D and Innovation Lead at Stirtec GmbH and Professor for Solid State Joining Processes at Technical University Ilmenau, Mechanical Engineering Facility.

Dr Ing Axel Meyer, Founder and Managing Director of RIFTEC GmbH

Dr Axel Meyer is the founder and MD of RIFTEC GmbH and Vice Chair of the research organisation of DVS. Dr Meyer is also the Chair of the working group of the International Institute of Welding on the International Standard on Friction Stir Welding ISO 25239.

Stephan Kallee, Technical Expert, AluStir

Stephan Kallee is a Technical Expert at AluStir in Böblingen, Germany, where he works on friction stir welding (FSW) and hydraulic linear friction welding (LinFric). He is qualified as an International Welding Engineer and provides consultancy, prototyping and welding equipment.

Stephan worked from May 1995 for 13½ years at TWI Ltd and is still an enthusiastic‘introducer’ of TWI’s Industrial Membership Services. Since February 2023, he focuses on integrating FSW heads of Stirweld GmbH into CNC milling machines for industrial applications. These smart devices control the downward force to compensate height tolerances, measure the force and temperature for quality control and protect the spindle bearing against the high process forces and temperatures.

He teamed-up with 3 organisations to develop a MiRoStir welding gun for using MicroTools for Robotic Friction Stir Welding (FSW). Relatively small robots can be used by applying the concept, which combines the benefits of well-known process variants, to self-react the forces, to simplify the clamping, to reduce the amount of flash at very high welding speeds.

At IFWC 2026, he will give an insight into hydraulic linear friction welding in the aerospace sector focusing on machines and applications. He will explain the concepts of amplitude control, hydraulic accumulators and hydrostatic bearings, as well as the clamping required to minimise the dimensional tolerances in six degrees of freedom. He will present process variants such as translational assisted upsetwelding, vibration welding, high frequency pressure welding and multi orbital friction welding, before summarising the benefits and limitations.

Mike Russell MEng PhD CEng MWeldI MBA CMgr FCMI
Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer, KUKA Systems UK

Mike Russell holds a Masters degree in Materials Science (from Newcastle University), a PhD in Analytical Process Modelling (from Cambridge University)and a Masters degree in Business Administration (from Cranfield School of Management). During his career Mike has held a number of positions including:-

• Technical Specialist: Advanced Manufacturing
• Section Manager: Contract R&D Services
• Group Manager for Advanced Manufacturing Technologies
• Group Manager for Strategic and International R&D Programmes
• Director: Operations and Business Development
• Director: Technology
• Chief Technology Officer
• Managing Director

Mike is a UK chartered engineer with 25 years’ experience of developing and implementing advanced manufacturing processes, including a number of significant international technology transfer programmes.

Mike has authored over 60 technical papers and publications and two patent filings to date. He has won a number of awards during his career, including the Lidstone Medal in 2008, the TWI Innovation Prize in 2012, the Welding Institute’s Larke-Lillicrap award in 2014, and the ILSSI Lean Six Sigma Project Excellence award in 2021.

Mike is currently Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer at KUKA, UK. In this role he is responsible for the development and delivery of strategic R&D programmes and partnerships across the Advanced Welding Systems (AWS)business. Mike is also active in supporting the effective delivery of value for KUKA’s clients, and associated strategic relationship development.

In addition to his KUKA position, Mike is a non-executive director of the International Lean Six Sigma Institute (ILSSI). ILSSI is a network of process improvement specialists who work to train, develop, and certify a broad international network of business improvement and quality specialists.

Dale Fleck, General Manager, Mazak Megastir

Dale Fleck is a distinguished engineering innovator and manufacturing technologyleader whose career has been defined by significant contributions to friction stir welding (FSW), solid-state joining, and advanced tooling systems. With a portfolio of patented technologies and a leadership role within one of the world’s foremost FSW organizations, Fleck has been instrumental in advancing the industrial adoption,performance, and reliability of friction-based manufacturing processes over that past two decades. As General Manager of Mazak MegaStir, Dale directs global strategy, product development, and the technical roadmap for ultrahard FSW tooling and solid-state deposition technologies. Under his leadership, Mazak MegaStir has strengthened its position as a premier provider of advanced FSW solutions serving the aerospace,defense, energy, and heavy-industrial sectors. Throughout his career, Dale has collaborated extensively with leading research institutions and industrial partners to accelerate the commercialization of friction stir technologies. His work supports cutting-edge applications including hybrid FSW, additive friction stir deposition, and high-integrity sold state material processing formission-critical components. Dale Fleck is widely recognized for his ability to bridge engineering innovation with practical industrial implementation. His leadership continues to shape the evolution offriction stir welding, hybrid joining processes, and solid-state manufacturing.

João Gandra, Materials and Processes Engineer, European Space Agency (ESA)

João Gandra is a materials and processes engineer at the European Space Agency (ESA), specialising in advanced manufacturing for space. He has over 15 years of experience in mechanical and welding engineering, with particular expertise in friction welding. Prior to joining ESA, João worked at TWI, where he led numerous projects in the transport sector, including automotive body structures and thermal management systems for electric vehicles. He also invented and led the early development of TWI’s patented Coreflow technology. 

At IFWC, João will present a review of friction stir welding applications in space, highlighting European contributions such as Ariane 6 and European-built modules for low Earth orbit and the Lunar Gateway space station.

Social Event

As part of the conference there will be a social event on Wednesday 20 May at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire. The evening event will take place on Wednesday 20 May in The AirSpace Aircraft Hall at IWM Duxford which offers a distinctive venue for events as it is set within an exhibition that tells the story of British and Commonwealth aviation. Home to over 30 historic aircraft - including the Spitfire, Lancaster and Concorde - the hall provides an impressive and memorable backdrop for an enjoyable and interesting evening of food and music.

More information about the Imperal War Museum in Duxford can be found here.

This social event is included in the registration fee.

The Air Space where the social event will be held at Duxford.

Tour of TWI's Facilities

On Friday 22 May there will be a tour of TWI's laboratories and engineering halls and technology demonstrations.