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Fully funded PhD Studentship with industrial top-up
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering , The University of Manchester
Work is under way jointly at the Sensing, Imaging and Signal Pocessing Group (Prof. Ozanyan) and the Electrical Energy and Power Systems Group (Prof. Wang) to develop a portable “blood test kit” for power transformers. This will be used for health monitoring of the low-voltage transformers in the power supply grid, without interfering with their normal operation. The main research issue is to corrrelate the stages of transformer oil ageing to the spectrum of the fluorescence emitted by the oil, which is analysed by statistical data-processing algorithms without taking any oil out of the transformer. The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Electricity North West (ENW). ENW, as one of 6 companies operating the 14 electricity distribution networks across the UK, delivers annually through its 38,332 transformers over 24 TWh of electricity to around 2.3 million homes. The work on the project will be an outstanding opportunity for a young engineer to develop expertise in an area of substantial demand in the coming decades.
The work on the project will involve: the integration of an optical sensor with the data processing algorithms on dedicated hardware; the development of a simple user interface; the extensive characterisation, calibration and testing of the methodology and the device. Candidates should be UK residents and hold a 1st or 2.1 Honours degree or MEng/MSc in physics, engineering or a related discipline and be available for interview in Manchester. The successful candidate must be able to take up the Studentship by 1st October 2012.
If you wish to apply, please email a covering letter, full Curriculum Vitae and the names and contact details of at least two academic referees to Ms Marie B Davies:
m.b.davies@manchester.ac.uk.
Informal enquiries should be directed to Prof. Krikor Ozanyan:
k.ozanyan@manchester.ac.uk
Closing date: 1st August 2012
Funding Notes:
The Studentship provides support for 3.5 years, including full tuition fees at a UK/EU rate, and a tax-free maintenance comprising of the minimum standard stipend of £13,590 p.a., plus a top-up from ENW, depending on qualification and experience, bringing the total maintenance up to ~£16,750 p.a. Due to funding restrictions, the full studentship is only available to students from the UK. EU students would be eligible for a fees only Scholarship. For full details on eligibility please refer to the EPSRC website:
http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/students/Pages/eligibility.aspx