Open Positions

Fully Funded:  

 Seeing Magnetism in 3D: Ptychographic Electron Tomography of Nanostructured Spin Textures

Supervisors: Dr Peng Wang, Prof. Julie Staunton

Department: Physics, University of Warwick

Start Date: October 2026

Funding: Please see the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Modelling of Heterogeneous Systems (CDT in HetSys), which includes a complete description of the scholarship benefits.

Magnetic skyrmions are tiny whirlpools of spins that could form the basis of future low-power data storage devices. However, real skyrmions are three-dimensional and can twist, stretch, or deform when trapped by material defects—behaviour that is still poorly understood. This project will develop advanced computational models to simulate a new imaging technique called electron ptychography, which can map magnetic fields in 3D at nanometre resolution. By combining quantum-mechanical modelling, tomographic reconstruction, and data-science methods, the project will reveal how skyrmions interact with defects, helping to design the next generation of magnetic materials.

This project aims to develop new theoretical and computational tools to visualise magnetic nanostructures such as skyrmions in three dimensions. Using an advanced imaging method known as electron ptychography, the student will simulate how electrons interact with magnetic materials and create algorithms to reconstruct 3D maps of their magnetic fields. The project will also model how skyrmions deform when they encounter defects, linking quantum mechanics, data science, and materials physics to understand their behaviour at the nanoscale.

You will have access to world-class facilities, including advanced STEM, and high-performance computing platforms at Warwick.

Please find the PhD project details here.

To discuss future projects, contact: Prof. Peng Wang (peng.wang.3@warwick.ac.uk)

Fully Funded:  

AI-Enhanced 3D Atomic-scale Imaging of Functional Materials for Clean Energy Conversion

Supervisors: Dr Peng Wang

Department: Physics, University of Warwick

Start Date: October 2026

Funding: Please see the EPSRC and BBSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Negative Emission Technologies for Net Zero (CDT in Net²Zero), which includes a complete description of the scholarship benefits.

This project will deliver new methodologies for 3D atomic-scale imaging of functional energy materials at low dose using multi-slice 4D STEM, enabling insights into dynamic processes that are inaccessible with conventional techniques. To address the complexity of reconstructing and interpreting large-scale 4D STEM datasets, the project will integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) approaches to enhance 3D reconstruction and feature recognition. Deep learning models will be developed to accelerate and stabilise image retrieval, improving robustness under low-dose and noisy conditions. ML algorithms will be used to detect and classify surface and subsurface structural motifs (vacancies, adatoms, lattice distortions) and correlate them with physical properties. Overall, the project will establish AI-enhanced multi-slice 4D STEM as a transformative platform for studying complex nanomaterials across energy and storage research. You will have access to world-class facilities, including advanced STEM, and high-performance computing platforms at Warwick.

Please find the PhD project details here.

To discuss future projects, contact: Prof. Peng Wang (peng.wang.3@warwick.ac.uk)

Fully Funded:  

Low-dose 4D-STEM electron ptychography for biological dynamic imaging

Supervisors: Dr Peng Wang (Lead), Prof. Corinne Smith

Department: Physics, University of Warwick

Start Date: October 2026

Funding: Please see the main EPSRC Doctoral Scholarships page, which includes a complete description of the scholarship benefits.

This PhD project focuses on transformative 4D STEM ptychographic imaging technologies, aiming to develop a computational strategy to image biological objects in 3D. This PhD project bridges physics and life sciences by integrating physics-based imaging solutions into biological research so that you will be exposed to diverse and interdisciplinary research areas in applied mathematics, electron microscopy and biological macromolecules. You will experience an internationally collaborative environment, where you will closely collaborate with international-leading electron microscopists and structural biologists. You will have access to world-class facilities, including advanced TEM, cryo-EM and high-performance computing platforms at Warwick.

Please find the PhD project details hereLink opens in a new window.

To discuss future projects, contact: Prof. Peng Wang (peng.wang.3@warwick.ac.uk)

Fully Funded:

Innovative Design and Precision Characterization: Unleashing the Potential of Next-Gen Thin Films for High-Speed Wireless Communication

Supervisors: Dr Peng Wang¹ (Lead), Dr Huajun Liu²

1. Department of Physics, University of Warwick

2. A*STAR Research Institute, Singapore

Start Date: October 2026

The Warwick-A*STAR Research Attachment Programme (ARAP) offers fully funded four-year PhD studentships in Interdisciplinary Research. We provide an exciting opportunity for students to grow as experimental scientists, undertaking research to the highest international standards whilst working for extended periods in collaborating laboratories at the University of Warwick and an A*STAR research institute in Singapore. Projects are designed and supervised jointly by a Warwick and an A*STAR supervisor and training and support is given at both locations. Students typically spend Years One and Four at Warwick and Years Two and Three in Singapore.

Project details:

To discuss future projects, contact: Prof. Peng Wang (peng.wang.3@warwick.ac.uk)

Application Website: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/study/arap/projects/

High-Resolution Ferroic-ordering by Electron Ptychography

The emergence of ferroic orderings in materials at the atomically thin limit, including ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity, has attracted tremendous attention due to their novel physics and promising applications for future flexible nanoelectronics including artificial e-skin, flexible touch sensors and health monitors. Understanding the underlying physics behind the ferroic phenomena requires a high-resolution image technique that can directly visualize magnetic or electric fields in the materials at the nanometer, even down to atomic resolution. The aim of this project is to develop a new pioneering algorithm-driven imaging technique called ptychography in conjunction with machine learning and ultrafast detectors. We will work closely with Superconductor & Magnetics Group.

Developing in-situ Imaging Planform for Studying Low-dimensional Thin Film

Transition metal oxide (TMO) thin films are an intriguing class of electronic ionic material with diverse functional properties, including superconductivity, ferroelectricity, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, ferromagnetism, and multiferroicity[1]. This variety arises from the strong interplay between electron charge, orbital and spin angular momentum, and structural characteristics, enabling the development of functional devices that surpass the capabilities of standard semiconductors. The primary objective of this PhD project is to establish an advanced experimental capability by combining a MEMS chip with aberration-corrected TEM and the state-of-the-art ultrafast detectors at ePSIC (electron Physical Science Imaging Centre) and also with X-ray beamlines. This integration has great potential for directly visualizing atomic-scale evolution of domain structures in freestanding functional thin films during continuous deformation on sub-millisecond timescales.

Insight of Local Atomic Structure of Metal-Organic Frameworks via 4D STEM Imaging

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been named as one of “the top ten emerging technologies in chemistry” by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The properties of MOFs are directly influenced by various microstructures, including surfaces, interfaces, defects, and the interactions between the framework and guest species. Building on our previous work in cryogenic electron ptychography, our objective is to investigate the atomic-level structures of porous crystalline materials, including MOFs and COFs, allowing us to observe previously unattainable details such as atomic defects, host-guest interactions, and surface structures. We will work closely with the world-leading chemists at Warwick and Shanghai Tech University.

Machine Learning-powered Cryogenic Electron Ptychography For Bio-macromolecule Imaging

Ptychography is an emerging computational microscopy technique for acquiring images with resolution beyond the limits imposed by lenses, which has been applied to high-resolution x-ray imaging in synchrotron facilities and accurate wavefront-sensing in space telescopes. Rather than looking at something big or far-away, we are aiming to visualize the basic building blocks (such as proteins) of all life in three dimensions towards near-atomic resolution by developing ptychography on world-leading cryogenic electron microscopes (Nobel Prize-winning technique), further enhanced by artificial intelligence and machine learning. We will work closely with experimental experts at the medical research centre, the Rosalind Franklin Institute and structural biologists at the University of Oxford.