PhD Studentship: Investigating the Environmental Radiochemistry of Uranium under Dynamic Redox

This 3.5-year PhD studentship is open to Home (UK) applicants. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26; subject to annual uplift), and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. 

We recommend that you apply early as the advert will be removed once the position has been filled.

A funded PhD studentship is available to a chemistry/geochemistry (or related discipline) graduate with interests in nuclear and environmental radiochemistry. Uranium is a key contaminant from nuclear fuel cycle activities and understanding its chemical behaviour in complex environmental systems is essential for the safe and efficient decommissioning and clean-up of nuclear legacy sites and the long-term disposal of radioactive wastes. This exciting project will develop and combine cutting-edge laboratory- and synchrotron-based methods to fully understand and predict the (bio)geochemical processes that influence uranium redox behaviour under environmentally relevant conditions. There will be a particular focus on non-crystalline uranium species that can form under anoxic, reducing conditions.

The successful candidate will apply novel experimental approaches to study and directly measure the redox behaviour of uranium (and other radionuclides), applying both electrochemical and microbial redox manipulation methods. These experiments will be supported by a suite of state-of-the-art analytical techniques (X-ray spectroscopy, electron microscopy) to understand the mechanisms controlling molecular-scale radionuclide speciation as the redox environment is altered, and how this relates to radionuclide mobility in the environment. The experimental research project will be carried out in the University of Manchester’s Radioactive waste Disposal and Environmental Remediation National Nuclear User Facility (RADER NNUF) environmental radioactivity lab suite (https://www.ees.manchester.ac.uk/wrc/research/facilities/rader/), and will include solid- and solution-phase characterisation techniques.

The successful applicant will join a welcoming, vibrant group of 20+ researchers working in the fields of environmental chemistry, (geo)microbiology and radioactivity, and will receive training in a wide range of experimental techniques and methodologies including the handling of radioactive materials and synchrotron-based analyses. They will have the opportunity to present their research results at national and international conferences, to both academic and nuclear industry audiences. The project benefits from established links to the UK nuclear industry and the unique RADER NNUF research facilities in the University of Manchester’s Department of Earth and Environmental Science. Furthermore, we have established links to cutting-edge synchrotron X-ray experiments via the Diamond Light Source and other synchrotron facilities.

To apply, please contact the main supervisor, Dr Thomas Neill (Thomas.neill@manchester.ac.uk). Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

Advert information