Research topics and projects
The Physics Department at Warwick offers postgraduate degree programmes leading to either a PhD or a MSc by Research. The intake of students is typically around 35 per year and we have a thriving postgraduate research community within the department. Current students from one of the research groups give their views on life in the Physics Department here.
The UK's research councils, principally the EPSRC and the STFC, are major funders of PhD studentships in the Department, along with the University and a wide range of other funding bodies. For more details about funding and scholarships, please see this page.
The Department actively contributes to Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) funded by the EPSRC and industrial partners, including the Modelling of Heterogeneous Systems (HetSys) CDT, Diamond Science and Technology and the Analytical Sciences doctoral training centres.
The research undertaken in the department covers the 6 broad areas below, which are described in more detail on the Research Group web pages. You are welcome to contact any potential supervisor directly to discuss PhD projects.
This is a full list of the PhD research projects that supervisors have identified for potential students. Self-funded students and students with external scholarships are welcome to apply for any research project: our funding page has full details on funding options for UK and international students. There are a limited number of PhD scholarships for outstanding UK students to work on any project identified on the full project list. International students can apply for support via the Chancellor's International Scholarships and other schemes.
| Condensed Matter Physics Filter PhD projects: Funded / all. |
Theoretical and Computational Physics Filter PhD projects: Funded / all. |
Medical and Biophysics Filter PhD projects: Funded / all. |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics Filter: All projects. |
Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics Filter PhD projects: Funded / all. |
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Semiconductor / semimetal heterostructures: a platform for topological optoelectronics
Supervisor: Gavin Bell
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Magnetohydrodynamic wave interaction with flows in the Sun's chromosphere
Supervisor: Dr E Verwichte
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Fast ions and turbulence in fusion plasmas
Supervisor: Ben McMillan
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
2D Quantum Straintronics
Supervisor: Neil Wilson
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Electronic Structure & Photochemistry of Molecular Iron(III)-oxo Clusters
Supervisor: Nicholas Hine and Sebastian Pike
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
High temperature focused EMAT arrays
Supervisor: Rachel Edwards
More details on the project
Funding: fully funded for 48 months
Start date: October 2023
Unconventional Superconductors
Supervisor: Martin Lees and Geetha Balakrishnan
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Quantum materials at the interface of mobile electrons and frustrated magnetism studied using high magnetic fields
Supervisor: Paul Goddard
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Highly frustrated magnetic materials by neutron scattering
Supervisor: Oleg Petrenko
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Time-domain Astronomy with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO)
Supervisor: Danny Steeghs and Joe Lyman
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Planet formation by dust growth and disc fragmentation in protoplanetary discs
Supervisor: Farzana Meru and Rebecca Nealon
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 48 months
Start date: October 2023
The explosion environments and host galaxies of supernovae
Supervisor: Joe Lyman
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Investigating the nature and origins of planets in the Neptunian Desert
Supervisor: David Armstrong
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 48 months
Start date: October 2023
Unusual transit observations with PLATO
Supervisor: Paul Strom
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Nanoscale Imaging of Conductivity in Hybrid Metal Halide Perovskite Thin Films
Supervisor: Rebecca Milot
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 48 months
Start date: October 2023
Biological active matter in confinement
Supervisor: Vasily Kantsler
More details on the project
Funding: This project is not funded
Start date: October 2023
Property testing for quantum engineering
Supervisor: Animesh Datta
More details on the project
Funding: This project is not funded
Start date: October 2023
Non-Destructive Evaluation of micro-cavity defects in steels using digital positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy – NDE-PALS
Supervisor: Jon Duffy & Steve Dixon
More details on the project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Ferroelectric field effect transistors for next generation non-volatile memories and cognitive computing
Supervisor: Marin Alexe
More details on the project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Classicality and Quantumness in Glassy Open Quantum Dynamics
Supervisor: Katarzyna Macieszczak
More details on the project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Machine-Learning-Accelerated Simulation of Photocatalysis and Ultrafast Dynamics at Surfaces ( 3 projects available)
Supervisor: Reinhard Maurer
More details on the project
Funding: These projects are fully funded for 48 months
Start date: October 2023
Ferroelectricity in 2D materials and their polarisation switching behaviour
Supervisor: Alex Robertson
More details on the project
This project is not funded
Start date: October 2023
The formation of charge density waves in 2D materials
Supervisor: Alex Robertson
More details on the project
This project is not funded
Start date: October 2023
Quantifying space weather turbulence and extremes and risk at earth
Supervisor: Sandra Chapman
More details on this project
Funding: The project is fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Network science quantification of space weather at earth
Supervisor: Sandra Chapman
More details on the project
Funding: The project is fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Quantum physics and technologies of germanium low-dimensional structures
Supervisor: Maksym Myronov
More details on the project
Application deadline: Ongoing
Funding: The project is fully funded for 42 months- open to UK applicants
Start date: October 2022
Unravelling the Giant Piezoelectric Effect in ferroics under in situ external stimuli using Diffuse Multiple Scattering
Supervisors: Prof Thomas Hase at Warwick University and Dr Gareth Nisbet at Diamond Light Source
This project is a collaboration between Warwick university and Diamond Light Source.
More details for the project
Application deadline: Ongoing
Funding: The project is fully funded for 42 months at UKRI rates.
Start date: October 2022
Centre for Doctoral Training in Diamond Science and Technology
Diamond is a material of such diverse application, who knows what it is capable of achieving?
Who knows? You know.
The DST CDT is a gateway to the best in the UK's diamond research. You could deepen your understanding of diamond's properties, and apply your knowledge of physics, engineering, chemistry, life sciences or materials. You could uncover new ways to utilise this material's unique structure. You could be at the international forefront of efforts to transform society through aerospace, or telecommunications, or electronics, or manufacturing…
Fully funded PhD projects based at the University of Warwick, in Diamond Science and Technology
Projects available:
For further information- see https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/dst/phd_projects/
If you would like to discuss potential PhD projects, please provide contact details and forward your CV to dst.admin@warwick.ac.uk.
Warwick Centre for Doctoral Training in Analytical Sciences
The Warwick Centre for Doctoral Training in Analytical Sciences is recruiting the next generation of analytical scientists. With the world-leading facilities and expertise in Analytical Science at Warwick and partner external facilities (e.g., Diamond, ILL, ISIS) at their disposal, our students will graduate with a unique combination of skills in exploiting synergies between different experimental methods, e.g., diffraction, electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, microscopy and NMR, and in harnessing the power of combining data collection with experimental design, statistical analysis and simulation. Research and training will be delivered from across physical sciences, engineering and manufacturing, statistics, life and medical sciences in close partnership with industry, with research areas including pharmaceuticals, agro-chemicals and additives, soft matter, biological systems, energy and functional materials.
Register your interest now
Elementary Particle Physics
A short overview of the project areas can be found on the group website. Enquires can be made to Dr. Tom Blake (T.Blake.1@warwick.ac.uk).
PhD studentships (typically 42 months) are available. Typically support is available for UK and EU students, while others are likely to need their own source of funding. Enquiries, including queries on possible sources of funding, from all potential candidates are welcome.
Ultimate neutrino flux optimisation and design of next-generation neutrino experiments in nuSTORM
Supervisor: Xianguo Lu
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Physics studies for the Muon Collider target system
Supervisor: John Back
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Investigating Stellar Populations across Cosmic Time
Supervisor: Elizabeth Stanway
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Improving orbital tracking using optical parallax measurements
Supervisor: James McCormac
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Accretion and outflows in extreme astrophysical environments
Supervisor: Deanne Coppejans
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Circumbinary planets from space-based transiting planet surveys
Supervisor: David Brown
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Simulations of stellar convection and accretion of planetary debris
Supervisor: Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay
More details on the project
Funding: Fully funded for 42-48 months
Start date: October 2023
Identifying patient invariant parameters for diagnosis using terahertz sensing
Supervisor: Emma MacPherson and Fayyaz Minhas
More details on this project
Funding: This project is fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023
Space Weather extremes and the acceleration of the Earth’s radiation belts
Supervisor: Ravindra Desai
More details on the project
Funding: the project is fully funded for 42 months
Start date: October 2023