Postgraduate opportunities

Supervisor: Dr. Massimo Antognozzi

We are working on creating a fast and cost-effective antimicrobial susceptibility test for clinical use based on the Subcellular Fluctuation Imaging (SCFI) method. This technology, developed in Bristol by Dr Antognozzi’s group, uses an evanescent wave to analyse the metabolic state of bacterial cells. Our team has been granted funding from NIHR as part of an interdisciplinary cooperation to develop this technology further, with the goal of achieving more effective antibiotic prescriptions by doctors in the future.

This PhD project aims to implement parallel testing in a portable form factor by developing a non-imaging version of the SCFI system and to improve its performance by using an artificial neural network (NN) algorithm.

The project is a collaborative effort with Prof. Cryan’s group in the School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. You will be an integral part of this team, contributing to the design of a photonic chip to detect SCFI signals from multiple bacterial suspensions.

In the School of Physics, you will also be part of a team with significant expertise in AI-driven data mining. In this area, your role will be to develop and train a machine-learning algorithm based on the data generated by your optical device and to enhance its predictive capabilities.

If you are excited about the unique opportunity to work at the cutting edge of bio and nano-technology and to use your skills to positively impact society, you should apply for this project.

Supervisor: Dr. Andrei Sarua

If you are passionate about cutting edge research in metamaterials and nanotechnology then this is a project for you. This PhD is a part of collaborative work at University of Bristol focused on developing and tailoring near-field optics and plasmonic nanostructures to cover demands of possible practical applications, such as smart coatings/windows, solar/thermal panels, multimode biosensing, micro-LEDs, etc. You will advance the science and technology by designing, fabricating and exploring optical properties of metamaterials and structures, extending working range of plasmonic structures into blue-UV part of the spectrum and fabricating and studying tuneable and large area structures. The ultimate aim is to create an efficient passive and active optical structures to use in highly efficient light sources, optical label free biosensing, lab-on-chip devices, spectroscopy imaging, photocatalysis, photovoltaics, etc.

As a PhD student in this project you will get hands-on experience and training in wide range of fabrication methods of plasmonic and optical nanostructures (electrochemistry, nanolithography, physical deposition, etc) as well as get familiar with a host of characterisation methods (AFM, STM, TEM, SEM/EDX, XRD, UV-vis spectroscopy, Raman, etc). You might conduct finite element simulations of optical fields to compliment your practical work.

This is a highly collaborative project, offering you the chance to work with experts both within the University of Bristol and outside. If you are motivated to tackle a multi-physics project and contribute to research, this PhD is for you. Prior experience in material science, fabrication, or characterization is desirable but not mandatory.

For further details, please contact Dr. Andrei Sarua (a.sarua@bristol.ac.uk). Note, screening of applicants and interviews will take place after the application deadline. PhD studentship will be subject to successful funding either from School of Physics internal sources distributed competitively or applicant own funding sources.

Supervisor: Dr. Matthew Smith

Energy efficiency is key to reducing carbon emissions and preventing catastrophic climate change. The effectiveness of Net Zero technologies like electric vehicles, renewable energy sources and smart power grids depends on the efficiency their high voltage electronic device components (e.g. transistors and diodes). We develop new devices based on advanced ‘wide/ultrawide bandgap’ semiconductor materials such as Gallium Nitride, Gallium Oxide and Aluminium Nitride. This includes growing and characterizing the material itself, designing and analyzing devices using simulation software, fabricating devices in the cleanroom laboratory and measuring the electrical and thermal performance. By innovating new device designs, fabrication processes and measurement techniques we can develop new semiconductor technologies that have positive impact in the real world, and advance scientific understanding of device and material physics. Working in a supportive, multicultural team, you can use our world-class facilities (including the only commercial Gallium Oxide MOCVD growth system in the UK and in Europe) and collaborate with industry-leading companies to drive progress in this important area of research, publishing your work in academic journals and presenting it at international conferences.

For more details contact Dr. Smith via matt.smith@bristol.ac.uk or visit https://www.bristol.ac.uk/physics/research/materials/research-areas/cdtr/ 

Supervisor: Dr. Tomas Martin

The next generation of nuclear power plants in the UK will be pressurised water reactors (PWRs) such as Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C. Historically, water-cooled reactors have suffered from stress corrosion cracking (SCC), corrosion fatigue and crud damage in their primary coolant system. One key mitigation strategy adopted worldwide is the water chemistry regime of the coolant system. In particular, zinc is added to coolant water as it preferentially incorporates into the oxide, creating a denser inner oxide film that reduces the likelihood of SCC and reduces accumulation of cobalt radioisotopes.

This project aims to understand how Zn injection can mitigate corrosion and extend the life-time of the reactor components in both long-term operating and new reactors. The student will use autoclave facilities at the University of Bristol to expose reactor materials to PWR temperature and pressure water, varying the amount of H2 and Zn added during the test. This work will focus on the reversibility of Zn injection (i.e. how long does the protective Zn oxide remain after Zn injection stops). The student will use advanced scanning and transmission electron microscopy and focused ion beam to understand oxide formation and chemical segregation depending on zinc levels. Please contact tomas.martin@bristol.ac.uk for more details.

Supervisor: Dr. Tomas Martin

As part of the drive to reach a Net Zero electricity grid, helium-cooled fission and fusion reactors that operate at higher temperature are an important solution. Helium is used as the coolant within the next generation of High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) systems. Although helium is in theory a noble gas, at higher temperatures (750-1000°C) even small amounts of impurities in the gas mix can have significant impacts on oxidation, carburisation and decarburisation in the components of the reactor circuit. In order to successfully deploy high temperature helium gas-cooled fission and fusion reactors, these challenges must be understood and quantified.

This PhD project will study metal alloys subjected to high temperature in a helium atmosphere. The student will use advanced electron and focused ion beam microscopy in the Interface Analysis Centre materials facility to characterise how these key component materials change as they are exposed to high temperature helium environments. The project will explore the effects of surface finish, stress and impurities in the gas on the surface behaviour and study how different materials such as nickel alloys and graphite interact when next to each other in these conditions. Please contact tomas.martin@bristol.ac.uk for more information.

Supervisor: Dr. Tomas Martin

The components in fusion tokamaks will be designed to function for decades whilst being exposed to high temperatures, stresses, neutron irradiation and corrosive environments. High temperatures and stresses in metal components can lead to creep degradation, where cavities nucleate and grow at boundaries that can link to form cracks. It is important to understand how the location of creep damage in ex-service and test specimens correlates with both the microstructure of the material and the predicted engineering stresses.

This studentship, co-funded with UKAEA, focuses on large-scale mapping of creep damage in austenitic, ferritic and martensitic steels using advanced scanning electron microscopy (SEM) including electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and focused ion beam cross-sectioning. Machine learning tools will be used to correlate creep damage with the underlying microstructure and stresses, and compare the observed behaviour with predictions from engineering models. The project will use cutting edge experimental characterisation and modelling to investigate ageing and phase stability behaviour of austenitic, ferritic and martensitic steel under reactor loading conditions and laboratory creep tests, to develop a quantitative understanding of damage during creep, creep fatigue and stress relaxation. For more details, please contact tomas.martin@bristol.ac.uk. 

Supervisor: Professor Martin Kuball

Our world faces clear challenges in terms of climate change. We will develop a new generation of electronic semiconductor devices that will help us to become more energy efficient. This uses a new semiconductor called Gallium Oxide and also will explore other oxides on the horizon such as Germanium Oxides. In this PhD project, we will address that both temperature as well as the electric field needs to be minimized to allow devices that operate at high voltage and high current, to enable technology for feeding in wind or solar farm energy into our national grid. One aspect, we will for example explore is how to integrate these oxides with high thermal conductivity materials such as diamond – diamond is the best material for extracting waste heat due to its high thermal conductivity. You will have the opportunity to learn about the growth of these materials, device fabrication but also the simulation of the devices as well as their experimental testing, tailored to your interests and prior expertise. We have an inclusive and supportive international team, not only from academics involved in the research group but also from our PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.

Supervisor: Dr. James Pomeroy

Wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor devices, including those based on GaN, AlN, and gallium oxide, are being developed for next-generation communications and power electronics applications. However, the ever increasing areal power densities enabled by these technologies also poses a significant thermal management challenge, especially as the size of the active part of the device shrinks toward the nano-scale, suppressing thermal conductivity below bulk values - better understanding phonon heat transport at this length scale is a fundamental part of this research. Without addressing this, we can not realize the full potential benefit of these technologies. To address this challenge, we develop heterogeneous materials integration, including near-junction diamond heat spreaders, advanced experimental techniques and electro-thermal device models with the aim of improving thermal management. Advanced sub-micron spatial resolution characterization techniques available in our labs include Raman thermography, quantum dot super resolution thermography, time domain thermoreflectance, and EFISHG electric field mapping. This research has the potential to increase the efficiency and improve the reliability of power electronics and communication technologies through improved thermal performance. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with leading international semiconductor device manufactures who will supply state of the art devices to study in addition to those fabricated by colleagues at the university of Bristol clean room.

For more details contact Dr. James Pomeroy at james.pomeroy@bristol.ac.uk or visit https://www.bristol.ac.uk/physics/research/materials/research-areas/cdtr/

Supervisor: Dr. Stacy Moore

The contact-mode high-speed atomic force microscopes (HS-AFMs) at the University of Bristol are capable of mapping surface topography in air, liquid and controlled gas environments with nanometre-scale lateral resolution and sub-nanometre height resolution at up to 20 frames per second. Recent advances have enabled simultaneous topography and thermal or electrical conductivity mapping through the application of coated cantilever probes.

In this project, new capabilities for HS-AFM will be explored. This project will involve hardware and software development, including novel cantilever probe designs, new experimental methods, and integration into HS-AFM. For example, this project will explore the application of microelectrode probe designs into an electrochemical HS-AFM [1], and the adaption of heated-pressurised AFM developed by researchers at MIT [2]. The proposed advances have vast potential across many disciplines and industrial challenges within sectors such as nuclear power generation, transport, and aerospace.

For more information about this project please contact Dr Stacy Moore at stacy.moore@bristol.ac.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!

[1] Gardner, C.E. and Macpherson, J.V., 2002. Peer reviewed: Atomic force microscopy probes go electrochemical.

[2] Toparli, C., Carlson, M., Dinh, M.A., Yildiz, B. and Short, M.P., 2020. Multi-Foulant-Resistant Material Design by Matching Coating-Fluid Optical Properties. Langmuir, 36(17), pp.4776-4784.

Supervisor: Dr. Ross Springell

The University of Bristol is one of only a handful of UK academic institutions that is still able to work on real quantities of radioactive materials. As such, we have been in partnership with Sellafield for over a decade, working on providing fundamental scientific measurements and data that underpin strategically important decisions, regarding how we handle, store and treat our nuclear waste. Our research group leads the Sellafield Centre of Expertise for uranium and reactive metals, and we are a partner in the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) Uranics Innovation Centre (UIC).

This PhD will involve advanced nuclear materials synthesis (including uranium physical vapour deposition) and characterisation techniques, using the some of the most cutting-edge nuclear materials facilities in the UK ( www.bristol.ac.uk/physics/research/materials/research-areas/iac/). The student will take the lead in creative experimental design and analysis, with the potential for large-scale international facility access (ESRF for example, https://www.esrf.fr/home.html). There will be close cooperation with industry partners, opportunities to travel to international partner institutes and facilities, and this will be an exciting chance to employ your scientific skills on critically important real-world problems.

Supervisor: Dr. Ross Springell

Wide- and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors form the basis of efficient high voltage devices such as transistors and diodes that are needed to reduce energy waste in next generation power electronic applications such as electric vehicles, smart power grids and renewable energy generation. The University of Bristol, and the particularly the CDTR (centre for device thermography) research group, lead the world on the investigation of materials for such devices, based on gallium nitride and gallium oxide.

This PhD project seeks to explore more exotic materials. The Interface Analysis Centre (IAC) research group has built up more than two decades of knowledge on the fabrication of thin films, based on uranium and thorium (FaRMS, Facility for Radioactive Materials Surfaces - nnuf-farms.bristol.ac.uk/). Thorium dioxide is an ultrawide bandgap material, but we predict that it will be possible to engineer and tune the bandgap by making a thorium and uranium mixed oxide system. This project joins the skills and expertise of the thin films team across the materials and devices and quantum and soft matter themes, and the CDTR to investigate a brand-new candidate system for wide bandgap semiconductor physics.

Supervisor: Dr Peter Martin

Like many nations, the UK has installed a number of varying size, geometry, and composition of static (and mobile) radiation monitoring system(s) at key localities in support of nuclear threat reduction and wider national nuclear security – for example radiation portal monitors, or RPM’s. Some of these systems have now been in-place for over a decade – having been subjected to considerable degradation through extremes of weather, electrical and thermal cycling, as well as general mechanical fatigue and ageing; the  magnitude and specific contributions have yet to be fully identified or quantified. To calibrate, “tune-out”, and negate against degrading performance over time in detector materials and the associated electronics (e.g. SiPMs, coupling, and PMTs), a common approach is to periodically adjust settings such as the gain, bias, discriminators, energy windows, and spectral background however, this has a detrimental impact on the overall detector performance and resultant in-field capabilities and sensitivities.

Exploiting previous work and expertise with detector scientists at Hamamatsu Photonics examining radiation detection hardware in field-applications, alongside existing systems for hardware validation in extreme environments for Gulf State Governments, this PhD will work with colleagues at AWE-NST to utilise and combine both numerical material models and physical hardware experiments to baseline performance evolution of currently deployed monitoring systems – herein focusing on a subsystem specific to the UK’s unique, and not insignificant, problem space over those of international colleagues.

Application and Funding:
This project is funded by through the NTR-Net Centre for Doctoral Partnership (CDP) for 3.5 years. The studentship provides funding for tuition fees, stipend (standard UKRI rate), research training and support, and the continued opportunity to join in CDP activities. If you are interested in applying for the position, please get in touch with Peter Martin (peter.martin@bristol.ac.uk).
A formal application needs to be submitted through the University of Bristol online application: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/physics/

The closing date for applications is 28th March 2025. Please choose “Physics PhD” as course, and mention “AWE NTR-Net” as corresponding studentship advert and “Peter Martin” as contact person.

Further Information:

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity across our organisation as well as across all areas of our community. As such, we aim to have students from all backgrounds who are passionate about physics and engineering and who share our commitment to work for the good of the environment and the benefit of society. Unfortunately, owing to the topic of this PhD, only UK applicants or those
from EU and NATO Member Countries are permitted.