Advanced computational electromagnetics for nanophotonics and biosensing MPhil/PhD (Funded)

The University of Exeter’s College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences (CEMPS), in partnership with A*Star, Singapore, is inviting applications for a fully-funded PhD studentship. The anticipated start date is Noveber 2018. The studentship will cover tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £14,777 for 4 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study. The student will be based in the CEMPS at the Streatham Campus in Exeter. As per the program plan, the studies in year 2 and 3 will be conducted at the A*Star Institute for High Performance Computing (IHPC) in Singapore when the student will be supported by an A*STAR ARAP studentship which includes a monthly stipend, one-time airfare grant and a one-time settling-in allowance.

Location:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Living Systems Institute, Streatham Campus, Exeter, UK
Institute of High Performance Computing, A*STAR Singapore

Photonic technologies play a key role as building blocks in advanced biomolecular sensors and new generation medical diagnostics tools. They offer the potential for advanced sensing in healthcare and as novel analytical tools in the life sciences. We are now at the stage where advanced computational electromagnetic techniques are required to analyse complex nanophotonic architectures in response to intricate biomolecular structure and resulting light matter interactions [1, 2].

The present PhD project will explore full-wave electromagnetic simulation techniques of advanced optical sensor structures to achieve these goals. The student will develop the theoretical electromagnetic modelling, algorithms and advanced optical simulation tools at IHPC in Singapore. The student will apply the suite of analysis tools to nanophotonic single-molecule sensors developed in Prof Vollmer’s laboratory at the Living Systems Institute, University in Exeter.
Fully utilising the advanced computational capabilities of the A*STAR Institute for High Performance Computing in Singapore the student will combine the computational photonics, nanophotonics and plasmonics with molecular dynamics and density functional theory simulation techniques.
Our goal is to dramatically advance modelling and simulation capabilities of complex nanophotonic structures and their response to biomolecular structure and dynamics. We would like to develop a computational suite that allows us to analyse single-molecule sensor data to visualise the structural dynamics of single proteins [1,2]. The results of this study is expected to nurture in depth impact on our understanding of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. The results will lead to entirely novel designs for nanophotonic sensors for high-resolution visualisation of protein structure beyond the diffraction limit.

In summary, the student will be work on the following cutting-edge computational techniques:
1. Advanced computational electromagnetics of photonic and plasmonic nanostructures
2. Advanced molecular dynamics modelling and simulations of single protein dynamics
3. Density Functional Theory simulations for molecules attached to plasmonic nanoantennas
4. Perturbation theory for hybrid metal-dielectric (opto-plasmonic) sensor systems
The award of this studentship will be conditional on the candidates successful application to the A*STAR Research Attachment Programme (ARAP). The A*STAR ARAP scheme will fund PhD students to spend up to 2 years in Singapore with a stipend. This includes a monthly stipend, a one-time airfare grant, a settling in grant, medical insurance and conference allowance.