Current research degree projects
Explore our current postgraduate research degree and PhD opportunities.
450 research degree projects
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Ocean and earth science
Polar phytoplankton ecology and carbon export in a warming climate
Marine phytoplankton are key players in the global carbon cycle, responsible for half of Earth’s primary production. The Southern Ocean is responsible for high productivity rates but it’s also experiencing rapid climatic changes. This project will focus on understanding how polar phytoplankton and the biological carbon pump respond to a changing climate. -
Ocean and earth science
A Mediterranean Sea in the middle of unprecedented climate change
The Mediterranean Sea is a climate change hotspot, implicated in the recent dramatic warming and drying of the regional climate. This project will investigate how changes in surface Mediterranean waters and marine heatwaves are related to increasingly extreme weather and to shifts in the character and flows of underlying waters. -
Ocean and earth science
The biogeochemical impacts and implications of seaweed deposition as a marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) approach
This project will characterise the impacts of Sargassum degradation on deep-sea biogeochemical processes and determine the fate of products released into the environment to help evaluate the potential efficacy and effects of seaweed deposition as a marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) technique. -
Ocean and earth science
Extinction or adaptation: quantifying marine ecosystem responses to ancient climate change
Marine ecosystems are under urgent threat from ocean warming, deoxygenation and acidification today. Earth has warmed (and cooled) many times before, with sustained warm periods that resemble worst-case-scenario predictions for modern climate change. In this project you will investigate the impacts of these climate extremes on marine ecosystems. -
Engineering | Mathematical sciences | Electronics and computer science
Using AI to make road fleet operations more efficient, safe, and sustainable
The aim of this project is to leverage the potential of big data and AI to obtain a clearer insight into effects such as vehicle technical characteristics and driver/operator moods, preferences, and behaviours, and use these insights to improve existing operational and strategic policies. Relevant data from existing large vehicle fleets will be utilised to develop models that will be integrated into a prototype training platform to be used across different fleet operators in the UK and internationally. -
Electronics and computer science
Privacy/Security Risks in Machine/Federated Learning systems
In the wake of growing data privacy concerns and the enactment of the GDPR, Federated Learning (FL) has emerged as a leading privacy-preserving technology in Machine Learning. Despite its advancements, FL systems are not immune to privacy breaches due to the inherent memorisation capabilities of deep learning models. Such vulnerabilities expose FL systems to various privacy attacks, making the study of privacy in distributed settings increasingly complex and vital. -
Engineering
Transporting microplastic-laden bubbles through vortices (TRAP)
This PhD project might be for you if you are concerned about the growing microplastic contamination in our water bodies. -
Physics and astronomy | Electronics and computer science
Finding the unexpected in vast pulsar data sets
In this project, you will apply machine-learning and data science techniques to discover anomalies in vast data sets of radio pulsar observations, use these to understand how neutron stars evolve over their lifetimes, and advance our ability to use pulsars as tools to push the boundaries of modern physics. -
Physics and astronomy
Investigating the fuelling of supermassive black holes using multi-phase gas
Supermassive black holes live in the centre of galaxies and grow by the accretion of gas from their surroundings. This process of black hole growth occurs throughout the evolution of the Universe and powers some of the most spectacular and energetic events we can observe: Active Galactic Nuclei. -
Engineering
Improved understanding of transonic flutter for highspeed aircraft
Are you excited to develop innovative solutions to revolutionize the development of high-speed aircraft? Do you want to work in an environment that encourages you to guide your own career through exposure to a diverse set of novel, open-ended problems working in a multidisciplinary team?We're looking for motivated, creative thinkers who can help develop solutions to the toughest challenges in aircraft development today.