EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials

The University of Exeter invites applications for 4-year fully-funded PhD studentships starting in September 2018 as part of its EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials. This new centre-of-excellence in metamaterials, also incorporating topics from graphene science, magnetics, transformation optics, nanocomposites and quantum systems, acts as a hub of international and industrial collaborations, training scientists and engineers with the relevant skills, knowledge and professional attributes to transform the exploitation of material science across industry and academia.

We invite applications from independently-minded undergraduates that have demonstrated excellence at the undergraduate level in a relevant subject. Applicants should have an interest in electromagnetics, acoustics, nanotechnology and/or materials science, and are expected to demonstrate creativity and be open-minded to collaborative work and innovation.

Our Centre consists currently of over 60 postgraduate researchers from around the UK, Europe and the globe. Our UK and EU students receive a stipend to cover living expenses and fees, and we are normally able to offer small number also to International students. Industry-orientated studentships may also include a top-up to the stipend.

Further information can be obtained by e-mail to metamaterials@exeter.ac.uk or by visiting our website.

Metamaterials have properties beyond those found in nature, and have found application across the electromagnetic and acoustic domains. In 2018, we will run projects ranging from fundamental explorations of physics through to device design. Our students will research a wide range of metastructures spanning 10 orders of scale, from quantum considerations on the atomic scale through to plasmonics and biomimetics and the manufacture of novel composites at the nano-scale. From the control of electron spin (spintronics) and magnonics, to the centimetre and millimetre scale in both acoustics and the RF and microwave regimes.

XM² is interdisciplinary in nature, with projects taking place across Physics and Engineering.

Our core themes are

• Plasmonics and graphene photonics
  including localisation of light at the nanoscale, graphene-based detectors and sources and energy harvesting.

• Natural photonics
  including the exploration of metastructures and the biomimetics of natural structures.

• THz and Microwave metamaterials
  including tuneable structures, imaging, surface waves, absorbers, energy harvesters and antennas

• Magnonics and Magnetic metamaterials
  including spintronics and magnetodynamics

• Acoustic metamaterials
  including airborne and SONAR, metasurfaces, composite materials and absorbers.

• Spatial transformations
  including the application of theory to electromagnetic and acoustic problems.

• Nanomaterials and nanocomposites
  including carbon-based structures and nanocellulose.

• Quantum metamaterials
  including the exploitation of coherent quantum dynamics to control electromagnetic waves

The first year of the studentship includes a 6-month-project, and a substantial programme of training. Students will choose from a wide range of taught modules, and participate in academic and personal development skills-based workshops, together with creativity events and conference-style meetings. Students will also be expected to disseminate their results to the international community via high-impact publications and international conferences. They will spend time working with our partners at international universities, research institutes, and industry.

The University of Exeter is a top 10 UK university and a member of the elite Russell Group of institutions. The University has committed itself to a substantial expansion in its science base and within Physics and Engineering, over £10m has been spent on infrastructure since 2008 and the fields of electromagnetic materials, nanomaals and graphene have seen 25 new academic staff appointed.