University of York Electrical Engineering PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Artificial Intelligence based Electric Vehicle Motor Design

Electric vehicle development has been a hot topic around the world. This PhD programme will develop artificial intelligence based computational tools to accelerate electric vehicle motor design and optimization process. Read more

Supervisor: Dr X Zhao

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Realistic Underwater Acoustic Propagation Model for Medium Access Control Protocol Evaluation

Successful prediction of the performance of medium access control protocols is dependent on a realistic model of the underlying propagation channel. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Intelligent Medium Access Control for Underwater Acoustic Communication Networks

Most research in underwater acoustic communication deals with the physical layer, with primitive and inflexible multiple access, despite the medium access control layer playing a crucial role in providing efficient communication. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality

Recent developments in low cost VR displays have led to a resurgence of research into binaural 3-D audio. Whilst a good 3-D audio experience can be given using the state of the art technologies, there are still many problems to be solved. Read more

Supervisor: Prof G Kearney

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Towards developing novel actuation method of soft robotic devices towards medical applications

Beating-heart procedures represent a less invasive alternative to standard open-heart surgery with fewer perioperative complications, and shorter recovery time. Read more

Supervisor: Dr M Chauhan

30 April 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

How AI-driven design tools influence intrapreneurship in engineering businesses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is profoundly influencing and revolutionizing the engineering industry by significantly enhancing productivity, efficiency, safety, and innovation across various domains. Read more

Supervisor: Dr B Baruah

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Exploitation of Full-Duplex Capability in Underwater Acoustic Communication Networks at the Medium Access Control Layer

Full-duplex has the potential to double the capacity of point-to-point communication links, but these benefits can only be fully realised in communication networks through development of a suitable medium access control layer. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Energy-harvesting based MAC protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

A plethora of energy-efficient MAC protocols have been developed for wireless sensor networks based on the assumption of readily available (if somewhat limited) battery power. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Application of Satellite Medium Access Control Principles to Underwater Acoustic Communication Networks

Acoustic waves are widely accepted as the most suitable means of communicating underwater, since radio waves suffer from severe attenuation through water. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Computational neuroscience: Statistical signal processing for multivariate neuronal data, Neural computing with Spiking neural networks.

How does the human brain work? As you read this text, the pixels on your screen are converted into a series of spike trains passing along the neural pathways in your brain, allowing you to understand the content. Read more

Supervisor: Dr D Halliday

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Improvements in headphone based 3-D audio using adaptive binaural signal processing and robust head-tracking

Design of immersive binaural surround systems requires an understanding of the perceptual cues for sound source localisation. Any source at a given angle of incidence to the head will create subtle time and level difference cues at the ears and is subject to spectral shaping due to the pinnae. Read more

Supervisor: Prof G Kearney

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Influence of listener movement on tonality and spatial quality in adaptive immersive surround sound systems

Whilst there is a significant body of work that focuses on the spatial quality and tonality of immersive surround sound systems for a sweet spot position, these qualities under a dynamic listening scenario (i.e. Read more

Supervisor: Prof G Kearney

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Novel Multi-axis MEMs Force Sensors for Robotic Applications

Robots heavily rely on sensors to interact with their environment. Among these sensors, multi-axis force sensors play a pivotal role in enabling robots to safely interact with objects. Read more

Supervisors: Dr C Zhao, Dr BJ Jamil

31 October 2024 PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York Department of Computer Science

Intelligent and Efficient Testing and Verification of Deep Neural Networks

About the Project. Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have demonstrated human-level capabilities in several challenging machine learning tasks including image classification, natural language processing and speech recognition. Read more

Supervisor: Dr S Gerasimou

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York Department of Computer Science

Bio-Inspired Models and Biologically Plausible Mechanisms for Long-Term Motion Learning

Biological systems can learn from interactions with their environment throughout their lifetime. Learning is a defining ability of biological systems, whereby experience leads to behavioral adaptations that improve performance. Read more

Supervisor: Dr P Liu

1 May 2024 PhD Research Project Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

High-lifespan many-core devices

Switching activity and other technology-related parameters have a significant effect on circuit aging and can therefore affect the lifespan of devices. Read more

Supervisor: Dr G Tempesti

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Dynamic modelling and model based control of Compliant Hybrid Robots

Recent trends and the evolution of robots suggest a greater integration of automated robots into everyday life. These robots are expected to serve various roles, including service robots, healthcare assistants, inspection robots, and more. Read more

Supervisor: Dr BJ Jamil

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Deployable Mobile Robots for autonomous inspection applications

The adoption of autonomous robots for industrial inspection holds significant appeal, primarily due to their capacity to operate in various environments without concern for safety and health hazards. Read more

Supervisor: Dr BJ Jamil

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Plasma-based gas conversion into value-added chemicals

Plasmas are promising technology for the conversion of gases such as CO2, CH4 or N2 into more valuable ones, e.g. CO (starting material for alcohols and hydrocarbons), H2 (clean fuel applications) and NH3 (fertilisers). Read more

Supervisor: Dr E Wagenaars

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Full-duplex underwater acoustic systems

Acoustic signal transmission is the only feasible technology for long-range (>10-100m) underwater communication, navigation and sonar systems. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Machine learning in underwater acoustic communication modems

Machine learning is an approach that is useful when a practical optimisation problem is difficult to describe precisely. This approach has found multiple applications. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

High-frequency underwater acoustic communication for image transmission.

Communication using acoustic waves is the main underwater communication technology, since electro-magnetic waves quickly attenuate underwater. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

High data rate adaptive underwater acoustic networks

The ocean plays a key role in supporting all living organisms on our planet, yet the vast majority of the ocean remains unmapped and unobserved. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Human Interaction with Low-Speed Autonomous Vehicles

The University of York is embarking on ground-breaking research that focuses on data-centric engineering, digital twins, and AI, revolutionizing the way systems are designed and optimized through data. Read more

Supervisor: Prof S Perin

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

University of York School of Physics, Engineering and Technology

Artificial Intelligence based Electric Vehicle Motor Control

Electric vehicle development has been a hot topic around the world. This PhD programme will develop artificial intelligence based control methods to optimize the performance of electric vehicle motor drive system in terms of reliability and efficiency. Read more

Supervisor: Dr X Zhao

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only