University of Bath

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Carl Sangan)
  Design and modelling of sustainable, next generation aeroengines
• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Richard Burke)
  New processes to enable X in the loop simulations for the reduction of vehicle prototypes
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Oliver Pountney)
  Next generation radiators for hydrogen fuel cell powered aircraft
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Cormac Reale)
  Novel foundation strategies for electric road systems
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Chris Vagg)
  Rapid internal heating of Lithium-ion batteries

Research Profiles:

• Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (AAPS)

Our Department provides excellent opportunities for academic teaching and research collaborations with other departments, such as Education, Psychology, Social & Policy Science, Biology & Biochemistry and Pharmacy & Pharmacology. We also have a range of specialist equipment.

Our postgraduate teaching and research courses now form part of the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Graduate School. The Graduate School can provide you with dedicated support and a strong community in which to base your studies, whether on campus or by distance-learning.

Our aims:
-To develop a research portfolio that is both of the highest academic standard and has applications in the real world
-To provide excellent teaching in a stimulating learning environment designed to maximise student attainment and graduate employment prospects.
-To build on external links with the public services and other bodies concerned with human function, health and society
-To promote innovation in the design and delivery of healthcare services
-To identify and facilitate opportunities for academic collaboration and new developments

History:
The Department for Health was first established within the University of Bath in 2003. The Department was devised to centralise the high profile research and teaching in the health-related disciplines already taking place throughout the University, creating a single entity through which links with the health sector at national and international levels can be channelled, co-ordinated and developed.

Research Profiles:

• Health PhD

We offer research programmes in a variety of areas including:
- BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials
- Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture (CASA)
- Centre for the Engineering and Design of Environments (EDEn)
- Research unit for Water, Environment and Infrastructure Resilience (WEIR)
Our philosophy
As a joint Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering we engage in research and develop graduate courses where integration between the disciplines is likely to be most valuable.
Research is also carried out in collaboration with other departments in the University, particularly Mechanical Engineering, Electronic & Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Management, and Computer Science.
The dissemination of research findings is seen as a vital component of the research process and graduate students are encouraged to prepare papers for publication as part of their research training. We encourage a wide range of interests. Academic staff are always open to ideas which extend existing work or introduce new topics to their existing subject areas.
Our applicants
The MPhil and PhD programmes are an integral part of the Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering. Successful applicants are welcomed as junior academic colleagues rather than students, and are expected to play a full and professional role in contributing to the Department’s objective of international academic excellence.
We seek applications from outstanding individuals from anywhere in the world who are strongly committed to and potentially capable of high-quality academic research in any of the disciplinary areas covered by our Research Centres.

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Valeria Cascione)
  Can bio-based construction materials be reused or recycled?

We offer research programmes in a variety of areas including Advanced Separations Engineering, Bioprocessing Research Unit, Reaction and Catalytic Engineering and Water and Wastewater engineering.
Our philosophy
The Department of Chemical Engineering is a multidisciplinary centre focusing on research into future sustainable materials and technologies. We are funded by research councils, the Department for Trade and Industry, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the British Council, the EU, government research agencies and industry.
Chemical engineering research is crucial and supports development and production of new materials, fuels, drugs, consumer products, health care products, foods and beverages, electronic components, medical implants, and more.
As the number and complexity of chemical, biochemical and biological materials used in consumer products and supporting technologies increases, this research will play an increasingly vital role in the development of modern societies across the world.
Our international reputation for research makes Bath an ideal place to pursue a research degree, whether you want an academic career or to work in industry. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework rated the majority of our research as world-leading or internationally excellent.
Our applicants
We seek applications from outstanding individuals from anywhere in the world who are strongly committed to and potentially capable of high-quality academic research in any of the disciplinary areas covered by our Research Centres. You can apply for one of our pre-defined research projects or develop your own proposal. Our academic staff are always open to ideas that extend existing work or introduce new topics to their subject areas.
The dissemination of research findings is seen as a vital component of the research process and graduate students are encouraged to prepare papers for publication as part of their research training.
Successful applicants are welcomed very much as junior academic colleagues rather than students, and are expected to play a full and professional role in contributing to the Department’s objective of international academic excellence.

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Carmelo Herdes)
  Deciphering the Fundamental Challenges of Hydrogen's Thermodynamic and Transport Properties for its Storage at Ultra-Low Temperatures Harnessing Nanoporous Materials

The department of Chemistry at Bath is a highly successful and expanding department. A new research building (opened in 2000) and teaching building (opened in 2003) plus state of the art laboratories and equipment make Bath a first choice for many people looking to pursue graduate studies in the general area of Chemistry in the U.K.
Currently, there are 24 full time, fully research active members of staff. We are a young department – the average age of academic staff is just 37! Current there are over 60 postgraduate students, but this number is set to greatly expand in the coming years.
Areas of specific expertise include: asymmetric synthesis, development of new chiral catalysts, electrochemistry, solar-cell research, biological chemistry, biophysical chemistry, polymers, X-ray crystallography, chemical education research to name but a few key areas.
There are generally more than 16 postgraduate studentships available per year for students wishing to pursue Ph.D. degrees. It should also be noted that strong collaborative links exists between other departments in the University (including Biology and Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Chemical Engineering) and other academic intuitions world-wide.
We are always on the look out for bright, highly motivated students to do research at Bath.

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Petra Cameron)
  Probing Ion Motion in Perovskite Solar Cells

The Department of Economics is the second largest department in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences for student numbers.

We are currently about 40 members of staff engaged in research and teaching in the field of economics.
Our research output is highly visible with regular publications in many of the leading journals in economics.
We are currently ranked 8th in the UK for economics in the Complete University Guide 2017.
Teaching and facilities

Our graduates have excellent career prospects including leading finance, higher education and governmental institutions. Part of this success is based on our exceptional placement programme.
We offer various undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees which enjoy an excellent reputation in both the private and public sector and in academia.

Research and expertise:
The results of REF2014 confirm that our research is of excellent quality.
Our department is organised in five research groups working on:
-Macroeconomics and Finance,
-Public and Environmental Economics,
-Labour, Education and Health Economics,
-Economic Theory and Econometrics.

We are contributing to various large-scale international funded research projects including GLAMURS, Econadapt and Nudge-it. Our research has a widespread impact on society which is documented through numerous impact cases.

Research Profiles:

• Economics PhD

Our department is a thriving academic community focused on furthering our understanding of policy, culture, pedagogy and diversity within a global educational context. We hold a strong national and international reputation for our research.
We have an excellent network with a wide range of educational institutions including, schools, colleges, universities, local authorities and government departments, within the UK and also internationally.

Research:
We currently host around 40 academic and research staff, and have over 170 students enrolled on our doctoral programmes studying and researching both on campus and via distance learning throughout the world.

Our research is centred on the following areas:
-Educational Leadership, Management and Governance
-Internationalisation and Globalisation of Education
-Language and Educational Practices
-Learning, Pedagogy and Diversity

Research Profiles:

• Education PhD

We offer research programmes in a variety of areas based on the work being carried out by our Research Centres and groups.
Our philosophy
The Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering is in the vanguard of progress in a fast-moving discipline. It offers a broad spectrum of research expertise supported by state-of-the-art facilities.
Its international reputation reflects substantial levels of research income and journal publication, and it offers outstanding opportunities in postgraduate research.
The dissemination of research findings is seen as a vital component of the research process and graduate students are encouraged to prepare papers for publication as part of their research training.
Our applicants
We encourage a wide range of interests. Academic staff are always open to ideas which extend existing work or introduce new topics to their existing subject areas.
Successful applicants are welcomed very much as junior academic colleagues rather than students, and are expected to play a full and professional role in contributing to the Department’s objective of international academic excellence.

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Dingguo Zhang)
  Robotic Exoskeletons Controlled by Brain-Computer Interfaces
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Biagio Forte)
  Study of ionospheric propagation disturbances
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Ali Mohammadi)
  University of Bath URSA project: High-Precision Platform for Patterning Micro-Nano-Particles

The new Department of Life Sciences is a brand new department (as of August 2022) offering a range of Biosciences and Biomedical degrees, including accredited Pharmacy degrees.

Our cutting-edge multi-disciplinary research a diverse range of areas from drug discovery science and healthcare, to evolutionary biology and biodiversity. See our Department of Life Science research webpage for further information.

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Tamas Szekely)
  Extreme conservation: reproductive strategies of Malagasy shorebirds
• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Andrew Preston)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Airborne transmission of pathogens: defining microbial and environmental factors affecting survival in aerosols.
• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Andrew Ward)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Brain growth mechanisms involving axon volume and myelination linked with autism spectrum disorder
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Helen McDonald)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Causal inference tools to study vaccines using real-world data: how can we make better use of negative control outcomes?
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Anita McGrogan)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: How safe are antiseizure medications in pregnancy for conditions other than epilepsy?
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Chris Bailey)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Synthetic heroin: understanding the dangers of nitazene drugs
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Scott Lovell)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance with Targeted Covalent Macrocycles
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Julien Licchesi)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Targeted protein degradation in CNS disorders
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Nick Longrich)
  The evolution of reproductive strategies from dinosaurs to modern birds

The Department of Mathematical Sciences is an integrated department, whose work in the three areas of Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics has an international reputation. In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, Applied Mathematics was rated 5* with Pure Mathematics and Statistics rated 5. The Department was placed 8th for Mathematics and Statistics in the ‘Good University Guide’ published by The Times (2007), with the University placed 9th overall. We were one of only two departments in the country to achieve the top score of 24/24 in the Teaching Quality Assessment.
Staff in all three areas are involved in a very wide range of national and international research activities and several members of the Department have won prestigious prizes, medals and research fellowships for their work.
All parts of the Department welcome research students (both full-time and part-time) working towards the degrees of PhD, Integrated PhD and MPhil. With 18 Professors and 30 other academic staff, a wide range of research topics can be supported in depth and students with a good honours degree, or equivalent, will find much to enrich their scientific interests. Research in the Department covers a wide spectrum from the very pure to rather more applied aspects of Mathematics and Statistics. Some research is of a fundamental theoretical nature while much of the more applied work involves collaboration with other departments in the University, with industry and technology, and with government research departments. Each of the research groups within the Department runs regular seminar programmes.
A major new complex systems initiative started in 2005.
Main areas of research specialisms: Algebra and Geometry, Analysis, Control Theory, Differential Equations, Industrial Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Biology, Numerical Analysis, Solid Mechanics, Brownian Motion, Stochastic Processes, Mathematical Finance, Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Environmental Statistics, Multivariate Analysis, Computational Statistics, Bayesian Modelling.
Facilities and equipment: A comprehensive network of around 300 computers.
International and industrial links: The Department has many close links with industry, especially through the Industrial Applied Mathematics group. We have joint research projects or other links with with mathematicians in Canada, the USA, Japan, most European countries and several others worldwide.
Careers information: Recent PhD graduates have been in demand for academic posts, both in the UK and overseas, as well as for posts in industry.

Research Profiles:

• Doctoral research positions available in mathematical sciences and its applications

We offer research programmes in a variety of areas encompassing our Research Centres, Units and groups.
Our research
The Department of Mechanical Engineering has a proud record of achievement in education and research. Our research impact was officially recognised in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). 89% of our research was graded as either world-leading or internationally excellent, placing us 10th in the UK for our submission to the Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering.
Our research activities cover the full spectrum extending from fundamental investigations to applied research. Many of these activities are carried out in conjunction with industry and other universities, both in the UK and overseas.
Our applicants
We seek applications from outstanding individuals from anywhere in the world who are strongly committed to and potentially capable of high-quality academic research in any of the disciplinary areas covered by our Research Centres.
We encourage a wide range of interests. Academic staff are always open to ideas which extend existing work or introduce new topics to their existing subject areas.
Working with us
Successful applicants are welcomed very much as junior academic colleagues rather than students, and are expected to play a full and professional role in contributing to the Department’s objective of international academic excellence.
In many cases postgraduate projects are linked to industrial companies and are often carried out in collaboration with other departments within the University and other institutions. Postgraduates thus have the opportunity to work on interdisciplinary projects with a strong industrial relevance as well as on more fundamental engineering topics.
The dissemination of research findings is seen as a vital component of the research process and graduate students are encouraged to prepare papers for publication as part of their research training.

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Tim Harrell)
  ZENITH PhD project: Elastic tailoring of composite winglet-wing systems for enhanced performance

Physics at the University of Bath is a top-ranked UK research department offering scientific programmes leading to PhD in the following fields:
• Astrophysics: Advanced ground and space-based technology is exploited to collect cosmic signals from distant objects and use this information to study the structure, dynamics and evolution of galaxies, the physics of star formation, the role of black holes in galactic evolution, accretion (how matter comes together in space) and the role of cosmic magnetic fields in harnessing the energy of spinning black holes.
• Nanoscience: Innovative atomic-scale characterisation tools are used for the manipulation and design of novel functional materials on the nanoscale. Techniques embrace low temperature UHV scanning probe microscopy, x-ray synchrotron and neutron scattering, while facilities include the Graphene Centre and the David Bullett Nanofabrication Laboratory. Research encompasses the structural, transport, magnetic and superconducting properties of condensed matter at the nanoscale, including the interaction between electrons and photons in semiconductor and metallic systems.
• Photonics: The Centre for Photonics & Photonic Materials (CPPM) leads a major international effort in the field of linear and nonlinear photonics and optoelectronics, particularly in the context of novel and microstructured fibres. It benefits from an outstanding international reputation for its work on the optics of micro-structured materials, in particular the photonic crystal fibre (PCF) which was pioneered in Bath.
• Theoretical and Computational Physics: Computational and theoretical methods are being spearheaded to bridge the behaviour of complex systems on multiple length and time scales. Many projects benefit from access to Balena, the University’s high performance computing cluster with over 3000 CPU cores. Research spans the condensed matter/optical physics spectrum and embraces the electronic and nanoscale properties of surfaces, photonic crystals, nanomagnetism, charge transport in optoelectronic devices, soft matter and biophysics, and network theory as applied to animal behaviour.
The Department also hosts or is a partner in 4 research centres:
Centre for Photonics & Photonic Materials
http://www.bath.ac.uk/physics/research/photonics/
Centre for Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
http://www.bath.ac.uk/groups/centre-for-nanoscience-and-nanotechnology/
Centre for Space, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
http://www.bath.ac.uk/physics/research/csaos/
Centre for Networks & Collective Behaviour
http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/centres/cncb/

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Alain Nogaret)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Identification of ion channel dysfunction in epilepsy with machine learning
• (PhD Supervisor: Prof Ventsislav Valev)
  Twisting light and nanostructures with quantum advantage in a cutting-edge laser lab

Politics, Languages & International Studies (PoLIS) is one of the largest departments in the University.

Our students are ambitious and highly committed leaders of the future who are preparing for careers in international politics, business and communication. Many staff are leading scholars in their field and are involved in a wide range of research activities, including collaborative projects at both national and international levels.

Teaching:
We deliver a range of highly successful courses in politics and languages at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish languages are offered on our undergraduate courses. Students of the MA Interpreting & Translating may also study Chinese. We have an excellent reputation for teaching and students who study with us will benefit from our supportive learning environment.

Research:

Our research is categorised around three core clusters:

-Conflict, Security & International Order
-Governance and Resistance
-Memory, History & Identity

The quality of our work has been recognised by the Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) as over two thirds of our publications and 100% of our departmental impact submission was judged to be outstanding (4*) or very considerable (3*).

Research Profiles:

• Politics, Languages & International Studies PhD

The Department of Psychology has a distinctive research profile with a cutting edge approach to theory, methodology and application. We came into formal existence in 1997 when the University was re-organised into faculties - prior to that we had a flourishing undergraduate and postgraduate programme within the School of Social Sciences.

All academic staff in the Department are actively engaged in research and publication. We have a strong tradition of interdisciplinary work and collaborate with other departments in the University of Bath, local and national institutions, and international networks. The Department has doubled in size over the last five years and we now have 30 students undertaking postgraduate research. Twenty academic staff are augmented by various researchers and research fellows.

Bath is one of the ten best places to study in the United Kingdom. We have an excellent tradition of obtaining funds from the UK's various research councils and charities and we have strong links with various industrial partners and European agencies. Other sources of income reflect our ties with the various education and health authorities, the Home Office and charities.

Some of the research grants our staff have obtained include:
£200,000 from Mistra (Swedish Charity) to Prof. Alan Lewis as part of a 21 million SEK (approx £1.5 million) award for “Behavioural Impediments to Sustainable Investment” in collaboration with Evert Carlsson, Anders Biel, Tommy Garling and Catalin Starica (University of Goteborg),
£3,448,000 from the DTI and the EPSRC to Dr Danae Stanton Fraser for "Pervasive Computing for Mass Participation in Environmental Monitoring". In collaboration with the University of Nottingham, BT, Microsoft, BBC, Blast Theory, ScienceScope,
£45,000 from the ESRC to Dr Mark Brosnan, Dr Danae Stanton Fraser & John Trickett (Setpoint) for "Factors affecting success upon a science/engineering project (Lego Challenge)",
£176,000 from the EPSRC) to Dr Mark Brosnan for "Chaos and Pattern: adventures in Science & Engineering",
£1,191,435 from the EPSRC and £369,245 from industry to Dr Danae Stanton Fraser for the CITYWARE project under the WINES Programme (Wired and Wireless Intelligent Networked Systems). Partners include Computer Science (lead) and Psychology at the University of Bath, Imperial, Bartlett Institute, Vodaphone and IBM.

Project List:

• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Janet Bultitude)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Brain stimulation and neurophysiological investigations of central nervous system changes in pathological pain, and their augmentation by treatment.
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Katherine Button)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Can young people’s cognitive style explain associations between social media use and mental health?
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Thomas Lancaster)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Neuroimaging brain reward systems to stratify patients across the psychosis spectrum
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Lindsey Hines)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Parental transmission of substance use: exploring mechanisms and informing intervention
• (PhD Supervisor: Dr Graeme Fairchild)
  GW4 BioMed2 MRC DTP PhD project: Understanding the impact of childhood maltreatment on brain structure and connectivity in Conduct Disorder

Research Profiles:

• Psychology PhD

The Department of Social & Policy Sciences is an internationally-recognised research-intensive Department with a strong focus on policy and practice and a commitment to contribute to social well-being and social justice. We draw together academic staff with backgrounds in Social Policy, Sociology, Social Work and International Development and work closely with colleagues in Psychology, Economics and Health. The Department has approximately 40 Mphil/PhD research students in Social Policy, Sociology, and Social Work.

Research at the Centre for Development Studies

Bath has been a leading UK centre for research and postgraduate study in development studies for more than thirty years. It aims to contribute to combating global poverty and injustice by combining primary research into the reality of global poverty and inequality with critical engagement in development practice and policy making. It includes staff in economics, sociology, social anthropology, politics and human geography.
Four guiding principles are
• to link theory with practice, and research with action
• to understand processes as well as outcomes of change
• to relate local, national and international levels of analysis
• to promote interdisciplinary research that builds on strong disciplinary foundations

CDS is concerned with development in an interconnected world, with ongoing research activities in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, South and South East Asia. Themes include: poverty and policy; wellbeing and collective action; markets and microfinance; gender, youth and childhood; religion and identity; conflict and natural resources. We have around 30 MPhil/PhD students in International Development. For a list of current students and projects, see http://www.bath.ac.uk/soc-pol/postgraduate/phd/phd-list.html. For further information on current projects see http://www.bath.ac.uk/cds/research/projects-activities.html.

Research Profiles:

• Social & Policy Sciences PhD

This programme equips candidates with the skills to conduct and publish high-quality research, and to pursue careers in leading research-led universities.

Our leading academics undertake research that informs scholarship, education, policy and practice in business, management and society more broadly.

We are one of the UK’s leading research-intensive business schools. Our faculty members are actively engaged with the world’s wider research community. They regularly publish in leading journals in business, management and social sciences. The most recent UK Research Excellence Framework classed 87% of our research as world-leading or internationally excellent.

We have made a commitment to research that makes a positive difference to people’s lives. That is why we launched Research4Good. This campaign aims to communicate our research and the positive impact it has on society.

We welcome PhD scholars interested in developing professional scholarly research in any aspect of business and management.

The PhD programme aims to:

• provide a framework within which you can conduct original scholarly research on aspect of management or business
• facilitate your development as a fully trained and competent scholarly researcher, able to understand and use research techniques appropriate to your own and subject areas, and to be conversant with research methods used in other subject areas both within business, management and cognate social science disciplines

Learning occurs in several ways:

• working with your supervisory team: through working with a minimum of two academic advisers you develop both your research skills and your research study
• by undertaking taught research training courses provided through resources from our Doctoral College
• through becoming part of the School of Management’s research culture by, for example, participating in research seminars and research centre activities.

How to apply: https://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/how-to-apply-for-doctoral-study/

Research Profiles:

• School of Management