PhD Studentship: Towards a Fundamental Understanding of the Deformation of Ruthenium and Its Alloys

Sponsor/ Supporting Company: Johnson Matthey

Research Group: Advanced Steel Processing Group

Eligibility

This project is funded via the UKRI IDLA sponsored by Johnson Matthey with the University of Warwick. Under this funding scheme, UK citizens are eligible, as are UK domicile EU students. The studentship is for 3.5 years starting in October 2026 and will provide full coverage of tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend of circa £21,805. International students who can cover the difference in tuition fees between UK home and international fees are welcome to apply.

Start Date: 1st October 2026

Project Overview

Ruthenium alloys are growing in interest due to their lower metal value and potential applications across various industries like automotive and AI. Currently there is high demand in ignition products, with future opportunities expected in data storage devices and electrical contacts to supply the demand for higher computational power for AI driven technologies. However, the limited understanding of the hot workability and oxidation behaviour of ruthenium alloys is a major barrier to their commercial product development. This aim of this project is to gain a fundamental understanding of the high temperature properties of ruthenium and it alloys, and in particular the effect of different alloying elements on high-temperature workability and the oxidation behaviour of ruthenium alloys under relevant processing conditions. 

The PhD will be roughly broken down into these components:

• A literature search in the processing and formability of ruthenium and its alloys at high temperature
• Thermomechancial processing using a state-or-the-art Gleeble HDS-V40 to test the materials behaviour to stress and recrystallisation kinetics at temperatures around 1400C.
• Alloy development to understand / design how the processing window can be optimised through alloying.

As a PhD candidate, you will join the Advanced Steel Research Team, excellent and leading academics, researchers, project engineers and fellow PhD candidates. The group adopts a holistic approach to metallic materials, looking at the fundamentals and how they influence the full scale production.

For further enquiries regarding the position and application procedure, contact Dr Geoff West (g.west@warwick.ac.uk) or Dr Carl Slater (c.d.slater@warwick.ac.uk).

Essential and Desirable Criteria

Candidates with a First or Second High Upper Class Degree in Engineering or Material Science. An MSc degree in relevant subject area will constitute an added advantage. The successful candidate will be highly numerate and quantitatively driven, with working knowledge of metallic systems, fundamental metallurgical phenomena as well as basic characterisation. A burning passion and demonstrated ability of independent academic research and contribution to scientific publications is essential.

Funding and Eligibility

This project is funded via the UKRI IDLA scheme, University of Warwick. Under this funding scheme, UK citizens are eligible, as are UK domicile EU students. The studentship is for 3.5 years starting in October 2024 and will provide full coverage of tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend of circa £21,805. International students who can cover the difference in tuition fees between UK home and international fees are welcome to apply.

Supervisors

Dr Geoff West (Academic)

Dr Carl Slater (Academic)

Dr Santosh Kumar (Industrial)

Funding information

This project is funded via the UKRI IDLA sponsored by Johnson Matthey with the University of Warwick. Under this funding scheme, UK citizens are eligible, as are UK domicile EU students.

Funding Comment 

International students who can cover the difference in tuition fees between UK home and international fees are welcome to apply.

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