Introduction.- Overview on Ex-Situ Production Routes.- Casting Routes.- Mechanical Properties.- Future Directions.- Concluding Remarks.

About the Author:
Prof. Lorella Ceschini is an Associate Professor of Metallurgy at the School of Engineering and Architecture of Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy). She received the Ph.D. in Mechanical Metallurgy from the University of Padua. Prof. Ceschini has also been working on different fields, such as the relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties of steels, aluminium alloys and metal matrix composites; tribological behaviour of metals and composites, even after surface modification treatments; superplastic behaviour of metals and metal matrix composites. She has authored 160 scientific papers (>930 citations, h-index 18), mainly published in international forums, such as refereed Journals and Conferences.
Prof. A. Dahle is Professor in Materials & Manufacturing - Casting at School of Engineering, Jönköping University, Sweden. His research area includes solidification and grain refinement and modification of the cast microstruct4480, H-index: 38)
Prof Manoj Gupta is currently associated with Materials Division of the Mechanical Engineering Department of National University of Singapore. He did his Ph.D. (Materials Science) from University of California, Irvine, USA (1992), and postdoctoral research at University of Alberta, Canada in the same year.
His current research interests include processing, microstructure and properties evaluation of advanced light weight structural materials. To his credit are: (i) 'Disintegrated Melt Deposition' technique, a unique liquid-state processing method, and (ii) 'Hybrid Microwave Sintering' technique, an energy efficient solid-state processing method, to synthesize Al and Mg light-metal alloys/micro/nano/metastable-composites.
He has published over 410 peer reviewed research papers in various international journals and owns two US patents related to development of processing techniques and advanced materials. His current h-index is 56, RG index is 45.8 and citations are more than 12000. He has also co-authored four books. He is Editor-in-chief of three journals and hold important editorial positions in 12 other journals. Prof Gupta also received in Dec. 2015 Distinguished Scientist in Engineering Materials award from Venus International Foundation based in Chennai, India. Currently he is also a Visiting Professor of King Saud University and Part-time Lecturer of Kobe University, Japan.
Prof. Anders E. W. Jarfors is a Professor in Materials & Manufacturing - Casting at School of Engineering, Jönköping University, Sweden. His research area includes technology for the manufac920, H-index: 16).
Dr. S. Jayalakshmi is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (BIT), Tamil Nadu, India, from 2014 till date. She received her PhD from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India in 2002. Prior to joining BIT, she was a Research Fellow at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS). At NUS, she designed and developed new Mg-based alloys/nanocomposites. From 2004 to 2009 she was a Visiting Scientist at the Korea Institute of Science & Technology (KIST), Seoul, South Korea. At KIST, she conducted research on metallic glasses for hydrogen energy applications. She has extensive experience in investigating the 'process-structure-property relation' of metallic materials including light metal alloys/composites, bulk metallic glasses and amorphous alloy systems. Her current research interests include high entropy alloys (HEAs), creep behavior and tribological investigation of Mg alloys/nanocomposites. Dr. Jayalakshmi received the 'Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) - Best Thesis Award' for her M.Tech Research Project in 2000 (National level). She has written 1 book and 2 book chapters. She also has 102 technical publications in international journals/conferences from her research works (citations 320, h-index 11).
Prof. Alessandro Morri is Assistant Professor of Metallurgy at the School of Engineering and Architecture of Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy). He received t500 citations, h-index 11) mainly published in international forums such as refereed Journals and Conferences.
Dr. Fabio Rotundo is a Research Fellow at University of Bologna, where he received his Ph.D. in Mechanics and Advanced Engineering Sciences in 2012. Dr. Rotundo has been working on the relationships between processing parameters, microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminium alloys and metal matrix composites; innovative joining techniques for metals and composites; industrial application of thermal and non-thermal plasmas. Dr. F. Rotundo has authored more than 30 scientific publications in international journals/conferences on these subjects.
Dr. Stefania Toschi, Research Fellow at University of Bologna, received her PhD in Mechanics and Advanced Engineering Sciences at University of Bologna in 2016. The research activities of Dr. Toschi are mainly focused on casting aluminum alloys for high temperature applications, Al-based micro and nanocomposites and on the characterization of alloys processed by additive manufacturing processes. She has coauthored 14 publications in national and international journal/conferences.
Dr. Arvind Singh is a Professor at the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (BIT), Tamil Nadu, India, from 2014 till date. He received his doctoral degree from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India (2003). His expertise is in tribology and surface engineering related to aerospace, automotive, renewable energy, biomedical and MEMS applications. He was a Senior Research Engineer at the Energy Research Institute (ERIAN) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Lead Engineer at the Vestas Global R&D (Singapore), Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Visiting Scientist at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Seoul, South Korea and Materials Scientist at the John. F. Welch Technology Center (GE India). Dr. Arvind received the 'First Surface Engineering Best Paper Award' from the Society for Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) USA in 2007, for his pioneering work on biomimetic tribological solutions to micro/nano-scale devices. He was the recipient of 'Best Scientific Presentation Award' given by the Energy Research Institute (ERIAN), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore in 2013. He also received the 'The KSTLE Best Poster Award' by the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (KSTLE) in 2007. He has 5 e-disclosures and has written 5 book chapters. He has contributed 97 technical communications in international journals/conferences (citations 421, h-index 13).