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Applications are invited for our Ph.D opportunities. The demands of materials physics require that we can only accept students of the highest calibre; applicants usually have, or expect to gain, a first class degree in Physics, Mathematics, Natural Sciences or other appropriate subject. They are then provided with an excellent generic training in science. Doctoral graduates from Durham are highly sought after. In addition to many of our students taking first-class academic/research positions around the world, many others have secured careers for example in scientific management, patent law, industrial research, consultancy and scientific advisory positions for institutions and governments.
Our post-graduate degree courses normally start in October, but it is possible to begin at any time.
We have EPSRC funded studentships available to students resident in the UK for the past three years. These cover tuition fees and pay a generous bursary to cover living expenses.
Details on tuition fees are available on the following University pages:
International students: Durham has a long tradition of welcoming excellent students from all over the world. If you are thinking of applying to Durham University, of course you should look through these web-pages at the fabulous on-going research and training. Also try to speak with some of our alumni, they are our greatest ambassadors. The vast majority of international students bring their own scholarships with them - if you have your own scholarship and wish to be put in touch with a relevant alumni/a please include it on your application form.
We are currently updating the Ph.D. projects that are available for prospective students for 2016.
There are also a very limited number of University Studentships that are ferociously competitive. See Durham Doctoral Studentships link below:
A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £1,000.
Typically 1 or 2 per year in Physics.
Fellowships are limited in number and very competitive so a first class degree or equivalent is the minimum required to have a good chance of success.
Open to all students.
Very early – usually the December of the year prior to entry.
Student Financial Support Office
Fully funded 3.5 or 4 year Ph.D. studentships are available with flexible start dates. For details see:
http://community.dur.ac.uk/superconductivity.durham/vacancies.html
Correlated electron phenomena in solids are a major theme of physics in the 21st century. They have the potential to change our understanding of fundamental physics phenomena, to impact the technology significantly, and to provide new solutions to energy problems. Kroemer stated at the beginning of his Nobel lecture, “Often, it may be said that the interface is the device”. Novel phenomena and functionalities at artificial hetero-interfaces have been attracting extensive scientific attention in both material science and fundamental condensed matter physics for decades. Recently, a lot of studies suggest that complex oxide interfaces provide an even more powerful route to create and manipulate multiple degrees of freedom and suggest new possibilities for various applications. In this project, we will play a new twist to the traditional hetero-interface – inserting a monolayer of transition metal oxide to be sandwiched at the hetero-interfaces, which can exhibit even more intriguing phenomena and properties. Since the monolayer is a physically defined 2-D layer of atoms, differing from an interface region at the border of two layers, the sandwiched monolayer has its own intrinsic properties, which adds additional degrees of freedom and functionality to the system. The materials employed to sandwich the monolayer can be engineered to create certain electronic/magnetic/strain environments to the monolayer in between, which in turn can affect or induce new properties or novel functionalities to the monolayer.
In this project, we aim at designing and investigating the emergent novel physics phenomena and properties at a monolayer of transition metal oxide (e.g. MnO2, NiO2, CoO2, etc.) sandwiched in various perovskite and brownmillerite complex oxide heterostructures (e.g. SrTiO3, LaAlO3, SrCoO3-x, SrFeO3-x, etc.). Laser-molecular beam epitaxy and pulsed laser deposition will be employed to grow and construct the oxide heterostructures. We will study the topography and possible ferroelectric properties of the heterostructures with scanning probe microscopy-based techniques. To directly and specifically investigate the electronic and magnetic structure of the sandwiched monolayer, we will carry out our synchrotron soft x-ray absorption-based spectroscopy and microscopy techniques in multiple synchrotron facilities all around the world.
For information, please contact Dr. Qing (Helen) He: qing.he@durham.ac.uk
Deadline: 6th February 2023
Overview: Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in theoretical and computational soft matter and biological physics to work with Prof. Suzanne Fielding in the Department of Physics at Durham University.
Depending on the interests of the applicant, the project could be mainly computational or could combine numerics with analytical work.
Its overall aims will be to understand the deformation and flow behaviour of so-called yield stress materials, which keep their shape like solids at low loads, yet flow like a liquid at larger loads. One possible focus could be on the dynamical process whereby a material in an initially solid-like state firsts yields and starts to flow, and in particular on the statistical physics of how initially sparse plastic events in an otherwise elastic background then spatio-temporally cooperate to result in an emergent macroscopic flow.
Besides the immediate applications of this work to soft matter physics, and potentially also to the fracture mechanics of hard materials, yielding also governs geological processes such as landslides, avalanches and lava flows. It also determines the reshaping of biological tissue under the internal stresses caused by cell division, including during embryo development or tumour growth. Depending on the interests of the candidate, the project could develop a more specific focus on any of these particular areas of research.
The research will draw on concepts of statistical physics, nonlinear dynamical systems theory, fluid dynamics, solid mechanics and related fields.
Further details about Prof. Fielding’s research group can be found here, about the department here, and about the Durham Centre for Soft Matter here.
The department is committed to promoting diversity, and we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups.
For further information, please contact Prof Suzanne Fielding (suzanne.fielding@durham.ac.uk, or the Senior Postgraduate Research Administrator (physics.postgraduate@durham.ac.uk).
For the full job information please see our advert at jobs.ac.uk | Suzanne Fielding's webpage.
We have built a brand new Extraordinary Acoustic Raman Spectroscopy (EARS) experiment (believed to be the first in the UK and Europe). The method uses a bichromatic laser set up to allow single protein molecules to be optically trapped by a gold nanostructure and exposed to the GHz frequencies that will activate their global vibrational modes.
Figure1: The experimental set up for EARS showing the double-nanohole which traps protein molecules and allows energy at the beat frequency of two lasers to be transferred to the protein without absorption by the bulk water.
This project will use the precision laser technique to investigate how proteins interact with the water that surrounds them and how that interaction is modified by the presence of various biologically relevant ions in solution. The project will further aim to observe the vital functions of protein molecules including signally and self-assembly, and to understand the role of GHz vibrations in those functions. The project will involve collecting a range of spectra of proteins previously studied using other techniques in order to provide information for the development of more accurate elastic network models. These ENM models are used in a wide variety of applications including the prediction of binding affinities for drug discover pipelines and the search for novel protein conformations useful in the treatment of disease.
For further information, please contact Prof Beth Bromley (e.h.c.bromley@durham.ac.uk), or the Senior Postgraduate Research Administrator (physics.postgraduate@durham.ac.uk).
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