Research Degree Vacancies

Funding source: EPSRC-DLA

Sponsor/Supporting company: This project will run alongside the major UK EPSRC-funded research programme Frontiers in Electromagnetic Non-Destructive Evaluation Research (FENDER), involving multiple universities and over 20 industrial partners.

Stipend: Standard UKRI stipend (£20,780), plus funded tuition fees

Supervisor(s): Dr Frank ZhouLink opens in a new window and Professor Claire Davis FREngLink opens in a new window

Eligibility: UK home students (international applicants may be considered, subject to funding availability or self-funding)

Start date: October 2026

Project overview

This PhD redefines electromagnetic sensing by moving beyond magnetic permeability-dominated approaches to establish a conductivity-driven eddy-current framework for tracking microstructural evolution at high temperature.

The transition towards smarter, lower-carbon manufacturing demands new ways to understand and monitor how materials evolve during processing. This PhD project addresses a fundamental and timely challenge in electromagnetic (EM) sensing: how to quantitatively link electrical conductivity-dominated eddy current responses to microstructural evolution during high-temperature processing.

Conventional EM approaches for microstructure monitoring are often dominated by magnetic permeability effects and are therefore restricted to ferromagnetic materials below the Curie temperature. As a result, large regions of materials processing — including high-temperature steel processing, non-ferromagnetic alloys, and multi-material systems — remain poorly accessible to existing EM techniques. This project intentionally moves beyond that paradigm.

The research will focus on kHz–MHz eddy current sensing frameworks in which electrical conductivity is the primary sensing mechanism. This enables monitoring not only in steels above the Curie point, but also in non-ferromagnetic and weakly magnetic alloy systems, where phase transformations, grain evolution, precipitation, solute redistribution, or defect evolution modify electrical transport properties. While magnetic permeability effects will not be excluded where relevant, the central aim is to establish a robust, physically grounded conductivity-dominated sensing framework applicable across alloy systems and processing routes.

The project is fundamentally interdisciplinary, combining electromagnetism, materials physics, and metallurgy. The successful candidate will investigate how microstructural features — such as phase fraction, grain size, defect density, and thermal history — govern conductivity at elevated temperatures, and how these changes manifest in eddy current sensor responses. This will involve both experimental work and analytical interpretation, linking EM signals directly to underlying physical mechanisms.

Key research themes include:

•Design and optimisation of kHz–MHz eddy current sensors suitable for high-temperature environments

•Experimental studies linking microstructural evolution to electrical conductivity during thermal processing

•Signal analysis and feature extraction from complex, temperature-dependent EM data

•Integration of sensing data with metallurgical characterisation and physical interpretation

•Development of transferable EM sensing principles beyond steels, towards broader alloy classes

Additional information

The project will be based within the Advanced Steel Research CentreLink opens in a new window at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), an internationally recognised environment for steel metallurgy, electromagnetic sensing, and high-temperature experimentation. It will run alongside the major UK research programme Frontiers in Electromagnetic Non-Destructive Evaluation Research (FENDER), involving multiple universities and over 20 industrial partners.

Relevant industrial partners include British Steel, Tata Steel Europe, Primetals Technologies, ETher NDE, Advanced Engineering Solutions, Rolls-Royce, EDF Energy, and the National Nuclear Laboratory. FENDER aims to bring game-changing ideas to EM NDE by harnessing advances in electronics, signal processing, modelling, and data science, positioning EM sensing at the heart of future Industry 4.0 manufacturing, advanced materials processing, and circular-economy technologies.

Essential and desirable criteria

This PhD is ideal for candidates with a strong background in Physics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, or related disciplines, who are motivated by fundamental questions and experimental research. It will particularly appeal to students interested in electromagnetism, transport properties, phase transformations, and sensing science, and who wish to develop expertise that is both intellectually deep and highly transferable across materials, industries, and future research careers.

Essential criteria:

• 2:1 or higher degree in Physics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline
• Motivation for modelling, experimental and fundamental research

Desirable:

• Experience with electrical or magnetic measurements
• Familiarity with signal processing, data analysis, or numerical methods
• Interest in metallurgy and microstructure

Funding source: Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick

Sponsor/Supporting company: WMG – affiliated with The Faraday InstitutionLink opens in a new window

Stipend: Standard UKRI stipend (£20,780)

Supervisor(s): Professor Louis PiperLink opens in a new window

Eligibility: WMG home students only

Start date: October 2026

Project overview

This PhD project will focus on the development and characterisation of next-generation Li-ion battery prototypes using WMG pilot line facilities for industry-like pouch cells (including the new AMBIC – Advanced Materials Battery Industrialisation CentreLink opens in a new window).

Chemistries of interest include Ni-rich and LMFP (including blends) and anodeless formats. Research areas will include, but are not limited to:

• Determining ideal electrode processing and formulations
• Identifying protocols to enhance performance and longevity
• Interplay between degradation modes

Characterisation methods will include bespoke microscopy facilities, in-house and Synchrotron and neutron operando studies; and advanced electrochemistry.

This project is affiliated with the new Faraday Institution consortium: Lithium ion: Enhancing and Accelerating Performance – LEAP (formerly Degradation). Successful candidates will be affiliated with the LEAP project and The Faraday Institution.

Essential and desirable criteria

Essential:

• Strong background in STEM disciplines
• 2:1 or higher in a STEM undergraduate degree
• Interest in Li-ion battery technology, scale up and advanced characterisation (microscopy, X-ray and Neutron)

Desirable:

• Materials or electrochemistry laboratory experience
• STEM-focused Master's Degree

Funding source: EPSRC IDLA 26012

Sponsor/Supporting company: BP

Stipend: Standard UKRI Stipend (£20,780 from 1 October 2025)

Supervisor(s): Professor James MarcoLink opens in a new window and Dr Tim VincentLink opens in a new window

Eligibility: UK students only

Start date: 1 October 2026

Project overview

There exists an inherent variability in how lithium-ion batteries fail – an event commonly referred to as “thermal runway”. This uncertainty drives additional cost and complexity into the design and validation methods employed for battery systems created for electric vehicles, aerospace or stationary storage.

This PhD will aim to deliver a new validated methodology for scientifically assessing lithium-ion cell failure and its implications for system-level battery design.

By creating a new scientifically robust framework to assess and mitigate thermal runaway, this PhD project will develop a unique understanding of system-level battery integration challenges, including, but not constrained to:

• The need to initiate thermal runaway using repeatable techniques that do not influence or bias the resulting failure mode.
• The need to scale up the experimental assessment of a single device to a complete system that accounts for the influence of cell-to-cell propagation, cell topology and the use of active and passive methods of mitigation and containment.
• The need for multi-modal measurement systems to characterise thermal runaway, allowing a deeper understanding of the properties of thermal runaway and supporting the transition towards new methods of modelling and simulating battery failure (e.g., gas venting, fire and explosion).

The PhD is sponsored by BP and will take place within the Battery Systems team at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick. The WMG Battery Systems Group combines academics and engineers with industrial experience to address significant challenges of cell manufacture and integration into battery systems across a wide range of applications, including e-mobility, automotive, aerospace, rail, marine and stationary storage.

For further details, please contact Professor James Marco (james.marco@warwick.ac.uk)

Find out more about WMG's:

• Battery Systems Group
• Battery Safety Centre

Essential and desirable criteria

Essential:

• Background in electrical, mechanical, or electrochemical engineering
• 2:1 or higher in a relevant undergraduate degree
• Good understanding of sensor selection and instrumentation

Desirable:

• Proactive, with good organisational skills
• Experience in experimental activities, engineering design, and numerical analysis
• Ability to work well with technicians and laboratory support staff

Funding source: DLA award

Stipend: The studentship will cover tuition fees and provide a tax-free stipend at the prevailing UKRI rate for four years of full-time study.

Sponsor/Supporting company: Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI)

Supervisor(s): Professor Ton PeijsLink opens in a new window and Dr Leonid PastukhovLink opens in a new window

Eligibility: Available to home fee status and UK domicile EU students

Start date: On or before 7 September 2026

Project overview

We are seeking an enthusiastic PhD candidate to join the Centre for Polymers and Composites (CPC) at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, to work on:

Environmental effects on the long-term mechanical performance of short-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (ENFORM)

Short-fibre reinforced thermoplastics (SFRPs) are widely used in industries such as automotive and electrical engineering. During service, these materials are frequently exposed to harsh environments involving elevated temperatures, oxygen, and moisture. Prolonged exposure to such conditions can lead to a significant deterioration of their mechanical performance.

Material degradation arises from slow and irreversible changes in the polymer matrix, including molecular weight reduction, cross-linking, and morphological alterations. Additionally, degradation of the fibre–matrix interface can occur, further compromising the mechanical integrity of these composites. Together, these mechanisms strongly influence the long-term behaviour and durability of these engineering plastics.

This PhD project aims to investigate the mechanisms governing the long-term evolution of material properties in short-fibre reinforced thermoplastics with different polymer matrices, such as polyamides, polyphenylene sulphide, and isotactic polypropylene. The study will focus on ageing induced by temperature, moisture, and oxygen, with particular emphasis on hydrolytic and thermo-oxidative ageing processes. Both short-term mechanical properties (e.g., tensile strength and impact resistance) and long-term properties (including creep and fatigue behaviour) will be analysed.

Furthermore, the project will develop physics-assisted artificial intelligence (AI) models that integrate experimental data with fundamental physical principles. These models will be used to predict the evolution of mechanical properties during ageing, with the goal of reducing experimental testing requirements while improving the accuracy and reliability of lifetime predictions for demanding applications.

The project is sponsored by the Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), a leading international research platform that brings industry and academia together to drive pre-competitive, fundamental research in polymers.

We welcome applicants with interests in polymer physics, materials processing and characterisation, machine learning and performance optimisation of polymer composites. A background in materials science and engineering, polymer chemistry, or a related field is preferred. Prior experience with polymers or composites would be beneficial, though not essential. Most importantly, we are looking for motivated individuals who are enthusiastic about their research and able to work effectively within an interdisciplinary team.

The studentship includes a full stipend and covers UK tuition fees. The start date will be on or before September 2026, making this opportunity ideal for those completing, or who have recently completed, a UK-based undergraduate degree.

The research will be carried out by using the world-leading research facilities at the Centre for Polymers and Composites of WMG, University of Warwick. The PhD studentship offers a unique opportunity to work on this exciting topic with a group of leading international industrial scientists.

Essential and desirable criteria

Essential:

• 2:1 or higher in a relevant undergraduate degree
• Experience of computer-based simulation

Desirable:

• Knowledge of vehicle structures and electric vehicle design
• A proven ability to instigate computer simulations to understand crash structures during high velocity impacts
• Proven knowledge of current assembly and disassembly methods within the automotive field
• A history of experimental work within a laboratory setting, including manufacture, testing and analysis

Funding Source: EPSRC - IDLA

Stipend: £20,780 -UKRI standard rate for a full-time PhD over 3.5 years

Supporting Company: Jaguar Land Rover

Supervisor(s): Professor Darren Hughes, Dr Craig Carnegie, Dr Richard Beaumont

Eligibility: Home students

Start date: 6th October 2025

Project Overview

In order to meet the UK Net Zero Strategy, automotive manufacturers are adopting electrification in their fleet and the adoption of end-of-life principles.

Battery pack construction uses adhesives to fix multiple cells in place, creating a block of battery modules. The adhesive has several benefits, including thermal conductivity, electrical insulating and creating the necessary structural integrity needed around the battery.

However, this process can be slow, induces an element of stacking error and removes the options for easy disassembly for repair, replace or recycle.

In this project modification of the cell end cap design is to be investigated through FE analysis, prototype build and physical testing with the objective of providing a cell which is self-locating adds structural stiffness to the module and allows easy disassembly for repair or recycling.

This project will investigate new joining approaches for the battery back structure, look to incorporate structural rigidity into the module assembly and achieve a method for disassembly between cell and module.

Essential and Desirable Criteria:

Essential:

• 2:1 or higher in a relevant undergraduate degree.
• Experience of computer-based simulation.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of vehicle structures and electric vehicle design
• A proven ability to instigate computer simulations in order to understand crash structures during high velocity impacts
• Proven knowledge of current assembly and disassembly methods within the automotive field
• A history of experimental work within a laboratory setting, including manufacture, testing and analysis

Funding Source: EPSRC DLA Interdisciplinary Scholarships

Stipend:

• UKRI rate stipend for 3.5 years full-time (70 months part-time).
• Full Payment of academic fees (home only)
• A Researcher Training Support Grant of up to £5,000
• Access to Disabled Student Allowance, paid sick leave and paid parental leave

Supervisor: University of Warwick: Dr Arnab Palit, Prof Andy Metcalfe

Eligibility: Satisfy UKRI's eligibility criteria, this funding is restricted to Home fees candidates due to Council requirements

Start date: October 2025

Project Overview

Total Hip Replacement (THR) is a common surgical procedure, with nearly 100,000 performed annually in the UK. However, about 20% require revision within 15 years due to complications like implant loosening, dislocation, and fractures caused by suboptimal implant positioning. With primary THR demand in younger patients expected to increase fivefold by 2030, revision surgeries will also rise. To improve implant positioning, image-guided navigation is increasingly used in complex THR procedures. These systems combine preoperative planning and intraoperative measurements into a visual interface, improving surgical precision and outcomes. However, current navigation methods have significant limitations. They rely on artificial markers attached to bones, requiring additional incisions that increase the risk of injury and infection. The manual registration process adds 15-20 minutes to surgery, introduces human error, and creates line-of-sight occlusions, disrupting surgical workflow.

This interdisciplinary project aims to overcome these challenges by developing a vision-based marker-less navigation system using deep learning (DL). The project’s objectives include generating training data from synthetic datasets and real-world images (cadaver and actual intraoperative THR images), developing a marker-less segmentation and registration workflow, integrating with in-house THR pre-planning to create a complete navigation system, and validating it through cadaver experiments.

The proposed work will improve surgical workflow, shortens surgery time, enables unrestricted movement tracking, and reduces infection risks. Eliminating markers enables robot-assisted or fully automated femoral implantation, which is not possible with current systems. It aligns with key STEM themes and EPSRC’s strategic focus on ‘Engineering’, ‘Health and Medical Technologies’, and ‘AI, Digital, and Smart Applications’.

Warwick University is renowned for its high-quality research and a thriving PhD program. This strong research culture enhances both the PhD student’s experience and the demand for our graduates. This PhD project has been developed through interdisciplinary collaboration between Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Warwick Medical School (WMS), and University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust. It offers an opportunity to apply engineering expertise to real-world challenges, making a meaningful impact. The successful applicant will work collaboratively across WMG and WMS. While the primary focus will be on biomechanics, image processing, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and metrology, the student will also contribute to the co-design of cadaver experiments and data collection activities. Supervision will be provided by academics from various disciplines specializing in biomechanics, image processing, and computer vision, alongside orthopaedic surgeons and academics

Essential Criteria:

• A 1st or 2.1 undergraduate (BEng, BSc, MEng) and/or postgraduate masters’ qualification (MSc) in a relevant field, such as biomedical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, medical imaging, AI/ML, or a related discipline.
• Knowledge of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), with hands-on experience in developing and implementing algorithms using programming languages such as Python, MATLAB, or C++ for image processing or related applications.
• A passion and enthusiasm to challenge the state-of-the-art, and ability to work independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment, engaging with engineers, surgeons, and researchers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present research findings effectively.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience with medical image processing (e.g., segmentation, registration) and working with synthetic or real-world datasets (CT, X-ray, intraoperative images).

• Familiarity with marker-less tracking, computer vision-based navigation, or image-guided surgery.
• Prior research experience (e.g., a published paper, research internship, or project in a relevant area).

Funding and Eligibility: 

• UKRI rate stipend for 3.5 years full-time (70 months part-time).
• Full Payment of academic fees (home only)
• A Researcher Training Support Grant of up to £5,000
• Access to Disabled Student Allowance, paid sick leave and paid parental leave.

Satisfy UKRI's eligibility criteria, this funding is restricted to Home fees candidates due to Council requirements.

Funding Source: EPSRC Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award (IDLA)

Eligibility: Available to home fee status and UK domicile EU students

Stipend: £24,780 per annum for 4 years

Supporting Company: Tata Steel UK

Supervisors:

University of Warwick: Prof. Zushu Li, Dr Zhiming Yan,

Tata Steel UK: Dr Ciaran Martin, Dr Bin Xiao

Start date: October 2025 (or earlier)

Project Overview:

An enthusiastic researcher is invited to join a team to work on the EPSRC Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award project in collaboration with industrial partner Tata Steel UK. The project aims to advance fundamental knowledge on the impact of residual elements inherited from steel scrap on slag performance and utilisation in the scrap-based electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. The research will support the steel industry’s transition to net-zero steel manufacturing and enhance the high-value utilisation of the new EAF steelmaking slags.

Transition to scrap-based EAF steelmaking, by using a high percentage of scrap supplemented with ore based metallics (OBMs), is an attractive route to decarbonise the steelmaking process. However, residual elements inherited from scrap may significantly alter slag performance during steelmaking and the slag utilisation. The residual elements inherited from steel scrap such as Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Sn, and Pb, along with alloying elements from the OBMs like V and Mn (which depends on the iron ore sources) will be distributed between the steel, slag and dust during EAF steelmaking. The presence of these residual elements in the slag may influence its physical and chemical properties, including composition, viscosity, surface tension, electrical conductivity, which in turn affects the slag refining performance (e.g. desulphurisation, dephosphorisation, residual elements removal, slag foaming) and the overall EAF steelmaking process

Effective utilisation of the scrap-based EAF slags will be significantly affected by the oxide states and levels of those residual elements. Potential destinations of EAF slags include industrial waste landfills, and reuse/recycling (e.g. returning to the steel production process, high-value recycling). Industrial waste landfill will result in considerable costs to the steelmaker and should be avoided. For the high-value reuse/recycling, it is crucial to understand the phases in which residual elements exist, their behaviours during slag utilisation, and how they can be converted to amorphous phases or recovered. These challenges remain largely unexplored.

This research will be carried out by using the world-leading research facilities (high temperature experiment, advanced characterisation and modelling) at the Advanced Steel Research Centre of WMG, the University of Warwick. This PhD studentship offers a unique opportunity to work on the exciting topic with the leading scientists at Tata Steel UK.

Essential and Desirable Criteria:

A 1st or 2:1 undergraduate (BEng, BSc, MEng) and/or postgraduate masters’ qualification (MSc) in a science and technology field such as Metallurgy, Chemical Engineering, ceramics, Materials Science and Engineering, Manufacturing, Physics, Chemistry,

A passion and enthusiasm to challenge the state-of-the-art and to apply the world leading research facilities for the creation of critical knowledge and its industrial applications.

Funding Source: Industry

Eligibility: Available to home fee status and UK domicile EU students

Stipend: Standard UKRI – for 2025 its £20,780 Funding Period is 3.5-years

Sponsor Company: HMGCC

Supervisors: Louis Piper, Melanie Loveridge, Gerard Bree

Start date: 6th October 2025

Project Overview:

Essential and Desirable Criteria:

A 1st or 2.1 undergraduate degree, or a postgraduate masters’ qualification in Chemistry, Physics or Materials science / engineering would be essential.

Some experience of energy storage materials and characterisation techniques would be desirable

Funding source: University of Warwick

Eligibility: All fee status - five PhD students in total

Stipend: Four-year enhanced stipend: rate level increases in line with inflation and always remains marginally above UKRI's current forecasts.

Supervisors: Professor Louis PiperLink opens in a new window and Dr Mel LoveridgeLink opens in a new window

Start date: September/October 2026

Project overview

We are recruiting five PhD students (UK and International) to start in September/October 2026, under the supervision of Professor Louis Piper and Dr Mel Loveridge. Each four-year studentship is generously funded with an enhanced stipend, all tuition fees covered, and research support funding, including for participation in conferences.

Students will benefit from bespoke training courses and opportunities for national and international collaboration across the Hartnoll Centre for Experimental Fuel Technologies, of which Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) is a part.

Professor Piper and Dr Loveridge have vast experience in functional materials for energy storage/harvesting applications (e.g., Li-ion batteries and photocatalysts for hydrogen generation), along with the development of various advanced characterisation methods.

WMG has a suite of laboratories for synthesis, electrochemistry and battery scale-up, which boast cutting-edge facilities for accelerating material developments at laboratory scale into pilot line validation.

Key areas for PhD research include:

• Tuning electrode-electrolyte interfaces in batteries for improved performance and lifetime. This area includes the synthetic cathode-engineering of morphology and composition; precise (and scaleable) atomic decoration of electrode interfaces for improving transport and suppressing degradation; and studying reactions at buried interfaces (e.g. operando gas evolution).
• Electrolyte additive discovery to generate more stable and effective SEI layers to extend operational lifetimes.
• Scale-up of industry-grade electrodes for real cell studies. This includes formulation and electrode fabrication technologies (both slurry and dry processing), 3D spectro-microscopy imaging for electrode optimisation, and full cell assembly with operando X-ray/Neutron studies for interpreting electrochemistry.
• Advancing the next generation of electrode technologies that will take anode science beyond graphite with smart design and generation of stabilised interfaces to allow metal anode / anode-free development. All projects will involve the use of advanced characterisation approaches to probing interfaces using state-of-the-art measurement techniques.
• Collaborating with Chemistry to design and incorporate metal-organic frameworks into electrodes and solid electrolytes. This will advance microstructures and enhance Li storage and transport properties.
• A holistic view of electrochemical optimisation: from single-particle electrochemistry to operando full pouch cell battery studies (in collaboration with Profs. Unwin & Macpherson).
• Holy grail Li-metal batteries: how to suppress dendritic formation with lithium metal anodes with interface engineering.
• Pioneering an in-operando technique using emerging table-top terahertz spectroscopy to detect and monitor the onset of lithium plating during fast charging in a customised coin cell. This will be combined with electrochemical and other characterisation studies on fast-charge technologies with WMG and is a collaboration between WMG and the School of Engineering.

Hartnoll Centre for Experimental Fuel Technologies

Students will join the Hartnoll Centre for Experimental Fuel Technologies (HCEFT), which aims to develop innovative fuel cell and battery technologies, underpinned by fundamental understanding. The Centre is an exciting venture, bringing together leading research groups within WMG, the Department of Chemistry, and the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick.

With world-leading expertise and facilities in electrochemistry, materials chemistry, spectroscopy, microscopy, modelling and battery and fuel cell construction and testing, we aim to develop next generation electrochemical energy technologies through holistic views of fuel cells (especially ammonia fuel cells) and different kinds of batteries, including metal and metal ion (Li, Na, Ca etc.), rechargeable aqueous batteries, and redox flow batteries.

Our Centre is able to study processes from the nanoscale to device level, and we complement cutting-edge measurement science and materials synthesis with advanced modelling.

Candidates with first degrees (Bachelors and/or Master's) in all branches of Chemistry, Physics, Mathematical Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemical Engineering are welcome to apply.

Please submit your application through the above link only. Applications received through other channels will be redirected, and you will be required to resubmit.

Funding Source: EPSRC DTP

Eligibility: UK citizens only

Stipend: £20,780 standard UKRI rate for 3.5 years

Supervisors: Professor Tony McNally

Supporting Company: Roxel Ltd

Start date:1st October 2025

Project Overview:

The aim of this PhD is to investigate RAM formulation chemistry of polyol binders (HTPB) and isocyanates for optimization of formulation (pot life) and product mechanical properties for application in solid rocket propellants.

Due to the confidential and commercially sensitive nature of this project, please contact Prof. Tony McNally (T.McNally@warwick.ac.uk) directly for further information.

Essential and Desirable Criteria: 1 or 2.1 degree in Materials Science & Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or related subjects. Must be UK citizen.

Funding Source: EPSRC DLA

Eligibility: UK Home Student

Stipend: UKRI Standard Stipend & RTSG for 3.5 years

Supervisors: Truong Dinh, James Marco, Awinder Kaur

Start date:1st October 2025

Project Overview: The development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles is one of the best solutions for solving transportation problems such as air pollution, road congestion, and long commute times.

Lithium-ion batteries due to their high energy density, long lifetime, fast charging, wide operating temperature, and light weight, are the most common choice for the energy storage system (ESS). On the other hand, fuel cells have been more popular in recent years, especially in transportation applications due to their high energy density and capability to operate in a wide temperature range. To have high energy and power densities at the same time in eVTOLs applications, using a hybrid energy storage system (HESS) consisting of lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells seems to be a feasible solution. An effective energy management system (EMS) is then necessary to monitor the states and optimize the use of HESS, consequently enhancing the eVTOL’s desired performance.

The state-of-the-art review indicates the major research gaps for eVTOL’s EMS, including

1-Inability of Rule-based EMS to guarantee optimal performance (doi.org/10.3390/aerospace902011),

2- Violations with the constraints and missing safety in the optimization-based methods (doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.116152),

3- Weakness of the model-predictive-control (MPC) against HESS’s parameters uncertainties, noises, and disturbances (doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-3413),

4-Limited flight data for adaptive methods (doi.org/10.1016/j.geits.2022.100028), and

5- Failure to use a robust state estimator to increase robustness of EMS in eVTOL, have not been filled by studies.

To address these research gaps, this PhD project is developed answer two key research questions:

1- How to utilize robust and adaptive techniques to develop a resilient, scalable, and adaptable state estimator subject to different state estimation tasks in eVTOLs?

2- How can AI, MPC, and optimization be utilized to develop a resilient EMS that meets the development challenges of eVTOLs?

Key Research Objectives (OBJs) include

OBJ1- Modelling framework design, development, and validation of models for the eVTOL and its sub-systems for both control development and evaluation.

OBJ2- Design and verification of resilient state estimators for the eVTOL and HESS.

OBJ3- Design and verification of a resilient EMS integrated with the resilient state estimators.

OBJ4- Case studies and real-time evaluation of the integrated control system within Control LAB in WMG.

Essential and Desirable Criteria:

• Background: control/mechanical/electrical engineering, physics or computer science
• Essential knowledge - skills – experience: analytical skills, ability to demonstrate good knowledge in system modelling – simulation, (classical or modern) control theories or control applications with evidence
• Desirable knowledge - skills – experience: electrification technology, knowledge and experience in aerospace/automotive/transport sectors, energy storages (battery), advanced control techniques (optimisation / adaptive / robust / intelligent control, AI/ML). Any academic publications in relevant fields would be great but not essential.

Funding and Eligibility: EPSRC DLA for UK Home Students (Excellent international students are welcome, can be supported via other PhD studentships applications)

Funding Source: Monash Warwick Alliance

Eligibility: Satisfy UKRI's eligibility criteria, this funding is restricted to Home fees candidates

Stipend: £21,300 to increase with inflation. Funding period for 3.5 years

Supervisors: Andrew McGordon and Truong Dinh (Warwick), Wynita Griggs (Monash), Matteo Dutta (Florence)

Start date: 5th January 2026

Project Overview: We are recruiting several PhD students with a start date of January 2026

Successful students will join our Monash (Melbourne, Australia) - Warwick (UK) Alliance on the intersection of sustainable autonomous mobility.

This first PhD studentship will investigate methodologies for future energy strategies for airports in different geographical areas, working with experts from the following airports: London, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur and Florence.

We are interested in the challenges that electrification (electrical and fuel cell propulsion) brings to energy provision at an airport ecosystem, and novel solutions that can be investigated to provide an accelerated path to a more sustainable future. Additional considerations will include potential changes in user transportation habits and the increasing role of autonomy both airside and landside.

Essential and Desirable Criteria: A 1st of 2:1 undergraduate degree, or a postgraduate masters’ qualification in Physics, Engineering or Sustainability is essential