Exeter, United Kingdom

Metamaterials, are fabricated microstructures having properties beyond those found in nature. They are emerging as an important new class of materials with applications in many technology areas, from energy harvesting, through perfect imaging, to the much-hyped ‘cloaking’. Having recruited 18 new PhD researchers in its first year, the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (XM²) hosted by the University of Exeter (www.exeter.ac.uk/metamaterials) will admit its second cohort of 14-18 PhD students in September 2015.

The University of Exeter is a top 10 UK university, and a member of the elite Russell Group of institutions. The University has committed itself to a substantial expansion in its science base and within Physics and Engineering, over £10m has been spent on infrastructure since 2008 and the fields of electromagnetic materials, nanomaterials and graphene have seen 20 new academic staff appointed.

We have a well-established and strong track record of relevant research, spanning a unique mix of interests:

• Plasmonics and graphene photonics
  including localisation of light at the nanoscale, graphene-based detectors 
  and sources and energy harvesting.
• Natural photonics
  including the exploration of metastructures and the biomimetics of natural structures.
• THz and Microwave metamaterials
  including tuneable structures, imaging, surface waves, absorbers, energy harvesters and antennas
• Magnonics and Magnetic metamaterials
  including spintronics and magnetodynamics
• Acoustic metamaterials
  including airborne and SONAR, metasurfaces, composite materials and absorbers.
• Spatial transformations
  including the application of theory to electromagnetic and acoustic problems.
• Nanomaterials and nanocomposites
  including carbon-based structures and nanocellulose.

We assign students to projects as part of the application process, and the PhD projects available for 2015 entrants are detailed here

The first year of the studentship includes a 6 month mini-project (on a topic related to the assigned PhD project), and a substantial programme of training. Students will choose from a wide range of taught modules, and participate in academic and personal development skills-based workshops, together with creativity events and conference-style meetings. The cohort will also be expected to disseminate their results to the international community via high-impact publications and international conferences. They will spend time working with our academic and industrial partners.

We invite applications from independently-minded undergraduates that have demonstrated excellence at the undergraduate and/or taught-postgraduate level in a relevant subject. Applicants should have an interest in electromagnetics, acoustics, nanotechnology and/or materials science, and are expected to demonstrate creativity and be open-minded to collaborative work and innovation.

All studentships cover fees at the UK/EU or international rate. UK and EU students will also receive a stipend to cover living expenses at the standard RCUK rates (http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/skills/postgrad/)

HOW TO APPLY

Your initial application should be emailed to metamaterials<στο>exeter.ac.uk. This should include:

• an outline of your research interests
• a suggestion of your preferred area(s) of study within the XM² themes, and/or your interest in a particular project.
• an indication of whether you have already been in contact with a potential supervisor
• a discussion of why you would like to study for a PhD in Physics or Engineering, and why you would like to join a cohort-based doctoral training centre
• an academic CV
• degree transcript(s) giving information about the qualification awarded, the modules taken during the study period, and the marks for each module taken.
• two academic references

Applications will be reviewed by members of the XM² management board and candidates will be short-listed against a set of agreed criteria to ensure quality while maintaining diversity. Failure to include all the elements above may result in rejection. Criteria will include

ESSENTIAL 
Excellence in a lower degree in a relevant discipline; Excellence in written and oral skills in English; Evidence of knowledge of XM² ethos, research themes and/or supervisors.

DESIRABLE 
Specialist knowledge about one or more XM² topics; Research outputs (e.g. papers) and/or has undertaken training in research methodology (e.g. undergraduate research projects); Ability to work collaboratively.

Short-listed candidates will be interviewed by a panel of two academic members of staff drawn from the management board. A second interview will be undertaken by the potential academic supervisors for the student concerned.

Following interview, we will invite successful applicants to complete the formal application process.

Please mention this advert when you apply