PhD Studentship: Harnessing Waste-heat from Challenging Environments with Flexible Electronics, Sponsored by BAE Systems

Supervisory Team: Dr Katrina Morgan, Dr Ioannis Zeimpekis, Prof Nick Harris, Prof Steve Beeby 

Project Description:

This PhD is a sought after industrial Cooperative Award in Science and Techology (iCASE), with sponsorship from BAE Systems Ltd. 

Waste heat surrounds us; from car exhausts to fridges, and even yourself. This otherwise untapped energy source can be harnessed to produce power and help us shift towards a greener and renewable future. Using thermoelectric energy harvesters, any temperature gradient can become a power source, ideal for powering internet-of-things type sensors such as body worn health monitors. This is what this PhD will work towards using cutting-edge materials and technologies.

This PhD will develop advanced materials and turn these into thermoelectric energy harvesters. These harvesters will be integrated into clothing as wearable tech, scavenging our very own body temperature as the energy source. These will be integrated into a system level, powering internet-of-thing type sensors, ideal for health and sport monitoring of the human body. This proof-of-concept will also be adapted for hard-to-reach or complex heat sources such as engines or aeroplane wings. This project brings together creativity, innovation, and science to create a technology solution for real-life situations.

Facilities: The PhD student will perform exotic material and device fabrication and characterisation in state-of-the-art cleanrooms and laboratories, the Printed Electronic Materials (PEM) Lab, the Advanced Material facilities, and have access to BAE Systems environmental testing facilities.

Career development: The student will be supervised by a diverse and inter-disciplinary academic team, and an industrial supervisor. The student will gain exposure to a rich collaborative network of companies and international universities.  You will be part of the Smart Electronic Materials and Systems (SEMs) research group in the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), will be a member of the Centre for Flexible Electronics and E-Textiles (C-FLEET), and a member of the Sustainability and Resilience Institute (SRI) academy, joining a cohort of fellow PhD students. Discover the experience of a PhD in ECS here.

We welcome applicants from a range of fields including but not restricted to physics, engineering, electronics and chemistry. 

Entry Requirements A very good undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent). 

Closing Date: 31 August 2024. Applications will be considered in the order that they are received, the position will be considered filled when a suitable candidate has been identified. 

Funding: This is a prestigious fully-funded 4-year iCASE PhD studentship open to UK applicants and is jointly funded by EPSRC and BAE Systems. It provides a Home Student stipend of £18,622 @ current EPSRC rates, plus a £6,000 top-up from industry per year (tax free) for four years, with additional industrial funding available to support research expenses, travel, conferences and an internship at BAE Systems. 

How To Apply

Apply online: Search for a Postgraduate Programme of Study (soton.ac.uk). Select programme type (Research), 2024/25, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, next page select “PhD Engineering & Environment (Full time)”. In Section 2 of the application form you should insert the name of the supervisor Katrina Morgan.

Applications should include:

Research Proposal

Curriculum Vitae

Two reference letters

Degree Transcripts/Certificates 

For further information please contact: feps-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

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