Dr A Baule
Applications accepted all year round
About the Project
The School of Mathematical Sciences of Queen Mary University of London invite applications for a PhD project commencing either in January 2017 or September 2017 for students seeking funding, or at any point in the academic year for self-funded students.
This project will be supervised by Dr Adrian Baule.
The question of how densely objects can fill a given volume is one of the most ancient and persistent problems in science and mathematics. Understanding the properties of random packings of particles with a particular shape is of utmost importance in many engineering problems, such as glasses, liquid crystals, granular material, and biomatter. Previous research has almost exclusively
focused on spherical objects, where it has been shown that a random packing of spheres occupies maximally around 64% of a given volume in 3 dimensions. However, considerably higher packing fractions are achieved when the objects are deformed from spheres to non-spherical shapes such as ellipsoids, dimers, or spherocylinders. Therefore, finding the densest packing can be considered as
an optimization problem in the space of object shapes. This PhD project explores pathways to tackle this optimization problem using methods from stochastic processes and statistical mechanics. In particular, idealized packing protocols that can be formulated in terms of simple stochastic point processes such as the random sequential addition (RSA) process are investigated analytically and numerically. RSA realizes exactly the lower Minkowsky bound of spherical packings and might serve as a paradigmatic model to explain certain universal features of non-spherical packings such as the peak in the packing fraction for elongated shapes.
Full details can be found in the project abstract: http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/PhD%20Projects%202016/DSSP/Baule%20Project%202017.pdf
The application procedure is described on the School website. For further enquiries please contact Dr Adrian Baule, [Email Address Removed]. This project is eligible for full funding, including support for 3.5 years’ study, additional funds for conference and research visits and funding for relevant IT needs. Applicants interested in the full funding will have to participate in a highly competitive selection process. The best candidates will be eligible to receive a prestigious Ian Macdonald Postgraduate Award of £1000, for which you will be considered alongside your application. The application deadline for full funding is November 30th 2016 to start in January 2017, and January 31st to start in September 2017.
Funding Notes
There is also 50% funding scheme available for students who are able to find the matching 50 % of the cost of their studies. Competition for these half-funded slots will be less intensive, and eligible students should mention their willingness to be considered for them in their application. The application deadline for 50 % funding is January 31st 2017.
This project can be also undertaken as a self-funded project, either through your own funds or through a body external to Queen Mary University of London. Self-funded applications are accepted year-round.
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