PhD AIME Studentship: Digital Discovery of Polymer Nanoparticles

Supervisor: Dr Sam Parkinson

Prospective Start Date: 1 October 2025

At Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME), we are passionate about equity, diversity, and inclusion and are dedicated to cultivating a diverse cohort of PhD researchers from a range of academic backgrounds.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact p.r.knobbs@aston.ac.uk, AIME Manager for a chat.

This three-year studentship offers a comprehensive support package, including fees, a tax-free annual stipend of £20,780 a travel and conference budget, and a generous consumables budget.

This application is available to Overseas students.

This position will be based on the Aston Campus in Birmingham, UK.

Background of the Project

Nanomaterials have revolutionized science and technology, offering unparalleled opportunities to address critical challenges in modern society. A shining example of this was the COVID-19 vaccines. Nanotechnology is key to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As such, key industrial sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, maritime, energy and security have all invested in nanotechnologies, and this is expected to drive the global market value for nanotechnologies to $184 billion by 2028. Polymer nanomaterials are an important nanotechnology because of their versatility and ability to be customized for specific functions. These complex materials require significant researcher time and specialist knowledge which severely limits the rate at which new nanomaterials can be developed. Embracing digital technologies such as chemical automation and artificial intelligence offer pathways to overcome these limitations and accelerate nanomaterial discovery.

Aims and Methods

The aim of this project is to develop a self-driving platform capable of synthesising block copolymer nanoparticles with defined properties without any prior knowledge of polymer self-assembly behaviour or input from a human operator – significantly accelerating the rate of discovery. To remove the need for human input, two key functionalities need to be developed: (1) the ability to physically manipulate material to perform polymerisations and (2) the ability to analyse and process data. Over the course of this project, students will:

• Synthesise amphiphilic copolymer nanoparticles on an automated robotic platform.
• Automate the analysis of these nanoparticles via small angle X-ray scattering
• Make the system autonomous by embedding machine learning algorithms to search through different reaction parameters 

Person Specification

Candidates should have been awarded, or expect to achieve, EITHER:

• A Bachelors degree in a relevant subject with an award of First Class or 2.1. 

OR 

• A Bachelors degree in a relevant subject with an award of First Class or 2.1, and a Masters degree in a relevant subject with an award of Merit or higher.

Qualifications from other countries which are considered by Aston University to be equivalent to that described above will be eligible to apply.

The ideal candidate would have experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Organic synthesis
• Polymer chemistry
• Computer programming (Python) 

Submitting an application

As well as supporting documents, applications must include a Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.

Apply for this position via the above ‘Apply’ button.

Closing Date: 1^st June 2025

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