PhD Studentship in Formation, Impact and Coalescence of Droplets: Beyond Existing Models

Key information

Lead supervisors: Dr Rafael Castrejón-Pita

Application deadline: 15 March 2023

Project start date: 01 June 2023 onwards

Project duration: 3.5 years

Eligibility: UK Students, EU Students

Studentship funding: Home tuition fees (currently £5,690/year) and maintenance stipend (currently £19,668/year)

PhD project description

A 3.5-year PhD studentship is available under the supervision of Rafael Castrejón-Pita within the Manufacturing Futures Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London. The project is mostly devoted to the study of the formation, impact and coalescence of droplets and looks to overcome existing limitations of theoretical and numerical models. The project will investigate the breakup of complex fluids, wettability dynamics, and the impact and motion of liquids onto solid surfaces. All these topics are important in several practical contexts, such as inkjet and sprays, and have recently become one of the major themes of research in fluid mechanics. The project will use experimental techniques such as High-Speed Imaging, Image Analysis, and Holographic methods to characterise the dynamics of droplets. The project will see major collaborations with industrial partners.

The start date is after June 2023. The studentship will cover all university fees and includes funds for maintenance at the standard UK rate. 

Person specification

This studentship would suit a highly motivated student possessing a mix of experimental, theoretical, and computational abilities.

• The candidate should have, or be about to receive, an honours degree (at least 2.1 or equivalent) in Engineering, Physics, or a related subject.
• Good knowledge of fluid mechanics is expected and experience in laboratory techniques is a plus.
• Experience in programming (e.g. Python, Matlab or Labview) would also be beneficial.

Eligibility

Please note that the available funding supports tuition fees at the Home/UK rate (currently £5,690 per year). Students who are eligible to pay fees at the UK rate are welcome to apply (e.g. UK students or EEA or Swiss nationals who are “settled” or “pre-settled” within the UK in accordance with the EU Settlement Scheme).

Please refer to the following website for full eligibility criteria: Mechanical Engineering MPhil/PhD

How to apply

Eligible applicants should first contact Dr Rafael Castrejón-Pita (r.pita@ucl.ac.uk). Please enclose the following documents:

• A personal statement (500 words maximum) outlining (i) your suitability for the project with reference to the criteria in the person specification, (ii) what you hope to achieve from the PhD and (iii) your research experience to-date.
• A CV, including full details of all University course grades to date, and, if relevant, details on scholarships, prizes and scientific papers published or in preparation.
• Academic transcripts for undergraduate (Bachelor) and graduate (Master) studies.
• Names, and email addresses of two academic or professional referees (at least one academic).

After discussing the project with Dr Castrejón-Pita, eligible applicants should also submit a formal PhD application via the UCL website.

The supervisory team will arrange interviews for short-listed candidates.

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