EPSRC CASE PhD Studentship in Nanoscale Tomography and Chemical Analysis of Soft Materials in 3D

Number of awards:
1

Start date and duration:
1 October 2017 for 4 years.

Overview:
The Surface Engineering and Analysis Laboratory (SEAL) at Newcastle University currently has the most comprehensive suite of equipment in Europe for analysing surfaces and interfaces, and includes the National EPSRC XPS Users’ Service (NEXUS) . The techniques we use (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy) are physics-based.

Specific detection and understanding of the distribution and penetration of macromolecules and polymers (surfactants, polymers, fibres, packaging materials) in consumer relevant materials (fabrics, hairs, tissues, biofilms, etc) are critical for product and technology development in consumer goods industry. This is a high-profile studentship in conjunction with Proctor and Gamble, but clearly the science developed here could be of very great significance to a wide range of soft organic materials in medicine, biology or polymer science, with the possibility of collaboration with a number of leading groups internationally and a very high profile of work. Certainly the equipment available to the student selected represents an internationally state-of-the-art investment of over £6m.

Sponsor:
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/) and Proctor and Gamble (http://www.pg.co.uk/)

Name of supervisor(s):
Professor Peter Cumpson (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/mech/staff/profile/petercumpson.html#background), Professor Ian Fletcher (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/mech/staff/profile/ianfletcher.html#background), School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/mech/)

Eligibility Criteria:
You must have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 honours degree or international equivalent, in physics, chemistry, materials science/engineering or a related subject.

The award is available to UK/EU applicants only. Depending on how you meet the EPSRC’s eligibility criteria (https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/eligibility/), you may be entitled to a full or a partial award.

How to apply:
You must apply through the University’s online postgraduate application system (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/). To do this please ‘Create a new account’.

All relevant fields should be completed, but fields marked with a red asterisk must to be completed. The following information will help us to process your application. You will need to:
•insert the programme code 8090F in the programme of study section
•select ‘PhD Mechanical Engineering’ - Mechanical and Systems Engineering as the programme of study
•insert the studentship code ME036 in the studentship/partnership reference field
•attach a covering letter and CV. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote reference code ME036 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project
•attach degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of Please email ([Email Address Removed]) a covering letter and CV to Professor Peter Cumpson.