My scientific interests were always quite broad - encompassing theoretical and applied physics (BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees), materials science, materials engineering and design, plasticity and broader mechanics of materials. In most cases, I actively employed numerical simulations of physical and mechanical processes. 

A few of our leading Research Topics are 
1.    Structural models for defect plasticity in metals.
2.    Rheological models, physics and mechanics of high-strain-rate deformation of solids.
3.    Severe plastic deformation (SPD), including novel approaches to numerical simulations of the microstructure evolution.
4.    Novel fully discrete approaches to the EBSD-based and CT(tomography)-based materials characterisation.
5.    Design of advanced ceramic composites.
6.    Rare materials and their mechanical properties.
7.    Plasticity of nanocrystalline (NC) and nano-sized metals.

Historically, my first subject of interest was the mechanical behaviour of dynamically loaded nanocrystalline materials and I am still very enthusiastic about the topic of materials in their extremes. Then, I had a chance to contribute to the advanced physical models of plasticity, including deformation twinning at high strain rates and severe plastic deformation of metals. 
For nearly 7 years I worked in Saint Petersburg with an excellent team of mechanics based in IPME RAS, where I first encountered the richness of rheological models, and showed (among others, with Dr Nina Selyutina, ) that they excellently suit for non-conventional applications in high-strain-rate metal plasticity.
In Manchester, I first encountered and was captivated by the modern fields of discrete mathematics, including combinatorics, graph theory, cell complexes and algebraic topology. In particular, I have never expected before the possibility of the recent extension of my research area to materials characterisation, materials design and even crystallography. At the same time, I am still inspired by the novel applications of the developing fully discrete methodologies to applied areas such as fracture of graphene-ceramic composites, dynamic recrystallisation in copper alloys and thermodynamics of plastic flow.