Environmental pollution caused by tire and brake wear

The project covers the environmental pollution caused by automobile tire and brake wear and emphasizes the generation and environmental fate of micro and nano particulate originated from wearing across typical tire and brake life cycles. Tire- and brake-generated particulates are a very underrepresented source of pollution but at the same time the problem is highly diffused worldwide with radically unknown consequences. Tire and break wear contamination in the environment is not yet fully unraveled but it is potentially as pervasive and detrimental to the environment and biodiversity as the one related to microplastics. The project may cover various cross-disciplinary topics, including mechanics, environmental engineering, hydrological processes, and land and soil processes. The project can have wide applications including in environmental quality assessment, urban and infrastructure planning, soil physics and biogeochemistry and others.

The PhD candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree (Honours or Honours Class 1 equivalent) or a Master’s degree. The ideal candidate has good proficiency in programming languages and computation. Additional valuable skills may include a background in theoretical or computational reaction-advection-diffusion processes, eco/hydrology or soil physics, data science (statistics or econometrics or machine learning), and supply chains and be willing to learn mathematical concepts needed to develop advanced computational tools including mechanics, chemistry, and chemical kinetics. The applicant must be willing to undertake occasional high workload to meet milestones and project deadline commitments. 

Applications can be submitted via the University of Sydney portal

https://www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships/domestic/postgraduate-research/australian-government-research-training-program.html