Michael studies the relation between processing, properties and structures of glasses and glass composite materials, nuclear waste immobilisation methods and materials and has supervised 12 students to completion of their PhDs.

Michael has co-authored 14 books (3 editions of An Introduction to Nuclear Waste Immobilisation, New Developments in Glassy Nuclear Wasteforms, Crystalline Materials for Actinide Immobilisation, Cementitious Materials for Nuclear Waste Immobilization, Handbook of Advanced Radioactive Waste Conditioning Technologies, Radioactive waste management and contaminated site clean-up: Processes, technologies and international experience, Technological Bases of Radioactive Waste Management System, Glasses for Radioactive Wastes ...) and has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, 11 book chapters and authored 42 patents. He has also been awarded research grants totalling over £8M.