Dr A Sweetman
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Supervisors: Dr Andy Sweetman (Lancaster Environment Centre) and Mark Bowkett (T.E. Laboratories)
NERC Case PhD Studentship grant awarded to Lancaster University and T.E. Laboratories, Tullow, Ireland.
This CASE studentship will further develop and validate a passive water sampler that can be used to determine a wide range of priority substances under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The WFD is an ambitious piece of European environmental legislation which aims to improve and protect the aquatic environment on a catchment scale. Lancaster University has developed a passive sampling technique that can provide a time integrated assessment of truly dissolved concentrations for a wide range of substances using a robust, reliable and cost-effective unit. The unique construction of the DGT sampler can be used to determine trace levels of a wide range of heavy metals as well as an expanding list of organic chemicals. A range of samplers can be constructed using specific combinations of diffusive uptake (sampling) layers and binding gels (storage). By selecting suitable polymers and carrying out a range of laboratory uptake studies, it is possible to manufacture a series of samplers that can be tailored to quantify a range of substances that could be priority substances listed by the WFD or others that have global interest.
Working with scientists from across Lancaster Environment Centre, in partnership with staff from T.E. Laboratories, the project will aim to:
• Assist in the further development and testing of the DGT samplers within the framework of the WFD for a range of priority pollutants.
• Determine substance specific sampling rates, the effect of pH, ionic strength, boundary layer thickness and biofilm formation on substance uptake.
• Undertake field deployment to validate DGT samplers against active and grab sampling methods.
The 3.5 year CASE Studentship is a collaboration between Lancaster Environment Centre and T.E. Laboratories. You would primarily be based at the Lancaster Environment Centre, where the CASE Partner T.E. Laboratories have an office, but also in Tullow, Ireland, where T.E. Laboratories have their main analytical laboratories
Academic requirements: First-class or 2.1 (Hons) degree or Masters degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject.
Deadline for applications: 4th December 2014
Interview date: 12th December 2014
Start date: 5th January 2015
For more details regarding the research project, informal enquiries are welcomed to Dr. Andy Sweetman ([Email Address Removed]) and/or Mark Bowkett ([Email Address Removed]). For information on applying please email Andy Harrod ([Email Address Removed]).
Application process: Please upload a CV and a covering letter outlining your background and suitability for this project at LEC Postgraduate Research Applications, http://www.lec.lancs.ac.uk/postgraduate/pgresearch/apply-online.
You also require 2 references, please send the reference form (download from http://www.lec.lancs.ac.uk/docs/PG_Reference_Form.docx) to your 2 referees and ask them to email it to Andy Harrod ([Email Address Removed]), Postgraduate Research (PGR) Co-ordinator, Lancaster Environment Centre by the deadline.
Due to the limited time between the closing date and the interview date, it is essential that you ensure references are submitted by the closing date or as soon as possible.
Funding Notes
The NERC CASE studentship will provide an annual stipend (£13,863 2014/15 [tax free]) and UK/EU tuition fees for 3 years and 6 months. A CASE stipend top up of £1000 per year will also be provided for 3 years.
Full studentships are available to UK and EU candidates who have been ordinarily resident in the UK throughout the 3-year period immediately preceding the date of an award. EU candidates who have not been ordinarily resident in the UK for the last 3 years are eligible for "tuition fees-only" awards (no maintenance grant). Unfortunately studentships are not available to non-UK/EU applicants.