Current research degree projects
Explore our current postgraduate research degree and PhD opportunities.
Explore our current postgraduate research degree and PhD opportunities.
Metaoptics, the application of metasurface concepts in optical systems, is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionise a wide range of applications, such as sensing, imaging, and telecommunications. The design and fabrication of high precision, large-area metaoptic components requires achieving high precision and accuracy over a large diameter. Next to making metamaterial devices that are very good at one particular function, there is a strong interest to develop multifunctional metasurfaces with properties that can be controlled or programmed after the initial fabrication. By combining metaoptics with novel materials that can change their state depending on electrical or optical control signals, new types of applications can be enabled.
Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD position on the investigation of novel design methods to improve the resilience of submerged infrastructure (i.e. bridge piers, wind turbines) subject to hydrodynamic action (e.g. currents and waves).Many critical submerged infrastructures are exposed to increased risk due to climate-induced changes in environment conditions, such as increased river current or wave action. In order to design the next generation of submerged infrastructure that are sustainable and both cost and carbon efficient, new design methods are required.
We are seekign an outstanding chemistry student with an interest in chemical biology to work on a project to develop cyclic peptide inhibitors of a protein-protein interaction that is heavily implicated in the development and growth of tumours.Mutant RAS proteins drive numerous cancers, with their inhibtion shown to have therapeutic potential in several tumour types. The majority of RAS inhibitors currently in development target the G12C KRAS mutant through a covalent inhibition mechanism, which limits their use to a small subset of cancers. The Tavassoli lab has used an in-house genetically-encoded library of cyclic peptides to identify several cyclic peptides that inhibit the interaction of RAS proteins with their affectors, and therefore inhibit downstream signalling in cancer cells.
Endofullerenes are a new class of materials in which small molecules or atoms are completely enclosed in carbon cages. The encapsulated atoms or molecules behave like “particles in a box” which have their own set of quantum energy levels. In this project, you will be trained in the theory and practice of inelastic neutron scattering (INS), in order to study the quantum properties of these remarkable new materials.
There is an ongoing transformation in engineering autonomous systems that aim to achieve complex objectives with limited human intervention in applications such as robotics, self-driving cars, and industrial systems. While the design of autonomous systems has typically relied on pre-defined models, the desire to operate in complex, unknown, or varying conditions implies that models of the system and the operating environment may not be always available. As a result, machine learning and data-driven approaches are on the rise and have the potential for impact in autonomous systems. However, embedding machine learning in autonomous systems is facing significant challenges in terms of safety, robustness, and resource efficiency.
MXenes are a new class of two-dimensional materials that have been recently discovered and have already shown great promise for a range of applications, including electrochemical energy storage, electromagnetic shielding, and energy conversion. MXenes can be made modified to possess porosity, which is a feature that can prove extremely beneficial for applications in various areas, including electrochemical energy storage, catalysis and gas adsorption. MXenes have already shown promise for gas separations, as they showed outstanding performance for CO2 capture in mixtures relevant for post-combustion carbon capture.
Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGANs) have gained notoriety in the media for their ability to create so-called “deep fakes” but their power can also be harnessed to provide predictions of optimal engineering designs. Such techniques offer the potential to significantly reduce design times by providing engineers with an instant solution to a design problem.
To meet the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement, aviation (~3% of human global CO2 emissions) must do its share. The target for air transportation is a 75% reduction in CO2 and a 90% reduction in NOx by 2050. To achieve such goals, the sector is looking at new energy carriers (batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen) and distributed propulsion concepts, as well as new configurations such as Ultra-High Aspect Ratio Wings (UHARW). Although the UHARW concept presents the distinct advantage of reduced induced drag, consequently leading to reduced fuel consumption and extended range, it concurrently introduces challenges associated with substantial aerodynamic load-induced wing bending moments and shear forces. These factors give rise to heightened structural weight, thereby constraining the overall advantages of the UHARW design. To tackle this challenge, some strategies can be employed, for example, integrating novel configurations, such as strut-braced wings, with novel technologies, such as active and passive load alleviation.
If you are a student of aerodynamics, chances are that you have drawn a conventional airfoil with nice, laminar incoming flow at some point. Enough of those steady, uniform streamlines! We welcome you to join us in disturbing the incoming flow and unravel in its unsteadiness using some of the best experimental facilities in the UK. If you are excited by the idea of subjecting bio-inspired wings to different types of canonical disturbances, measuring their aerodynamic responses, and taming their behaviour, then the vibrant and world-renowned Experimental Fluids Group at the University of Southampton is the place for you!
The Department Aeronautics and Astronautics of the University of Southampton is welcoming applications for PhD scholarships in the field of composite materials and structures.