Internet of Things (IoT) for microclimate monitoring within forests (Ref: CENTA2025-LU1)

Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 15 of the United Nations seek to conserve life on land “to protect and restore terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and stop biodiversity loss’’. To achieve this, better understanding of the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity is needed. Reliable estimation of microclimatic conditions is key to understanding how ecosystems function and is increasingly recognised as essential for predicting ecological consequences of climate change and pest invasions. In forests, which host two-thirds of the world’s terrestrial biota, microclimate conditions vary considerably in space and time. Their measurement requires the deployment of a high-density of sensors recording at frequent time-intervals, and adequate means of retrieving data from these sensors. 

The key aim in this project is to design hardware that enables the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors within forest ecosystems, which is integral to environmental research and effective environmental management. It is envisaged that a combination of traditional forecasts and IoT will form an accurate and low-cost solution for continuous and long-term monitoring of forest ecosystems, offering the potential to improve understanding of the environment. IoT is largely based on the deployment of robust self-powered sensing (SPS) nodes, forming a network for data collection and transmission to establish a detailed picture of the microclimate within the ecosystem, to comply with the ambitious legal obligations of statutory authorities for innovation on smart environmental monitoring. 

SPS has two key advantages; (i) it does not require batteries, since it harvests energy from ambient environment and (ii) data are transmitted wirelessly. Thus, it can enable accurate climate monitoring in difficult geographical terrains with significant reduction of the human intervention. Self-powered sensing can detect crucial parameters for ecosystem monitoring, such as temperature, rainfall, wind speed, humidity, soil moisture, CO2 levels. 

The proposed investigation will develop an SPS node (for microclimate observations within a forest ecosystem) compromising a bespoke energy harvester (electromagnetic or piezoelectric) integrated with sensors. The node will be autonomous, self-sustained with marginal human involvement. A hardware demonstrator (SPS node) ) assessed in real environmental operating conditions will be the main deliverable.

The School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering has seen 100% of its research impact rated as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (REF, 2021).

Supervisors

• Primary Supervisor: Amal Hajjej-Ep-Zemni
• Secondary Supervisor: Stephanos Theodossiades

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally need to hold or expect to gain at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or an appropriate Master’s degree.

English language requirements

Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements. Further details are available on the International website.

Funding Notes

The NERC studentship is funded for 3.5 years starting from October 2025 and provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum (in 2024/25) for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK rate and a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £8,000. Further guidance about eligibility is available at UKRI Terms and Conditions. Due to UKRI funding rules, no more than 30% of the studentships funded by this grant can be awarded to International candidates, but successful International candidates will have the difference between the UK and International tuition fees provided by the University.

How to apply

1. Complete a CENTA studentship application form in Word format (available from http://www.centa.ac.uk/apply/ or https://centa.ac.uk/apply/how-to-apply/).

During the online application process, upload the CENTA studentship application form as a supporting document. Please quote 2025-LU1 when completing your online application.

2 Applications should be made online. Under programme name, select ‘Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering/Electronic, Electrical & Systems Engineering’ and quote the advert reference number CENTA2025-LU1  in your application. 

To avoid delays in processing your application, please ensure that you submit your CV and the minimum supporting documents. 

3. Application closing date is midnight (UK time) on Wednesday January 8th 2025. Interviews for short-listed candidates are expected to be held in the period Monday February 3rd – Friday February 14th 2025.

The following selection criteria will be used by academic schools to help them make a decision on your application.

*Please note that real environmental operating conditions will be the main deliverable.

Apply now