FSE PhD President's Doctoral Scholarship: Sensing Circular Cities: Testing Low-Carbon Construction Materials through Urban Living Labs

This 4-year PhD studentship is open to both Home (UK) and international applicants. The successful candidate will receive an annual stipend at the UKRI minimum rate (currently £21,805 per year) plus £1,000/annum enhancement, and a research training support grant of up to £20,000 for the full 4-year programme. This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually, the projects that receives the best applicants will be successful.

Cities need construction materials that reduce embodied carbon and make better use of waste, yet adoption is constrained by uncertainty about long-term performance and by a lack of evidence about where these innovations should be deployed. This PhD will develop a multiscale “material-to-map” framework that connects laboratory characterisation and structural sensing with AI-enabled spatial planning. It will establish not only whether low-carbon materials work, but also where their deployment could deliver the greatest carbon, infrastructure and social value.

Under the supervision of our interdisciplinary team, the student will first develop/identify cementitious systems incorporating recycled construction materials or industrial by-products and capable of lowering emissions or storing carbon (i.e. the supervision team will propose feasible options). Laboratory research will quantify reaction mechanisms, microstructure, mechanical performance, carbon uptake and resistance to relevant deterioration processes.

Instrumented specimens and demonstrator components will combine embedded or surface-mounted sensors with non-destructive evaluation to monitor strain, temperature, moisture, cracking and changes in material condition under mechanical loading and representative environmental exposure.

For further details see here.

This project is expected to start in September 2027.

Before you apply: Please contact the main project supervisor, Prof Cise Unluer, to learn more about the project and discuss whether it may be suitable for you.

To be considered for this project you must submit a formal application through our online application portal by following the instructions provided here. Please note that you must select programme FSE PhD President’s Doctoral Scholarship:

If you already have an applicant account, use this link to open an application for FSE PhD President's Doctoral Scholarship. If you do not yet have an applicantaccount, follow the account setup instructions and then use this link to open an application for the correct programme.

When applying, please specify the full title and supervisor/s of the project, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees. You must also upload a Supporting Statement describing your motivation to apply to the project, your CV and transcripts of awarded and in-progress university qualifications. Please note late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

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