Infrastructure and Environment

Global context: By 2050 the global population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion, requiring an estimated 56% increase in food production compared to 2010, on less land, with fewer resources, and under mounting climate pressure. Crop protection products are essential to this challenge, safeguarding harvests from pests, weeds and disease. But manufacturing these agrochemicals sustainably is one of the industry's hardest unsolved problems. 

Scientific challenge: At the core of agrochemical manufacture lies filtration: separating solid crystalline product from the surrounding liquid. Many of these crystals grow as tiny rods, and their elongated shapes make them notoriously difficult to separate efficiently. Poor filtration means wasted product, wasted energy, and wasted water. Getting it right, can unlock cleaner, cheaper, more sustainable production at scale. 

This project: You will build particle-based physics simulations of rod-shaped crystals as they pack, flow and form filter cakes. Using fundamental physics, contact mechanics and hydrodynamics, you'll reveal exactly how rod geometry, orientation and packing govern filtration performance. From these insights, you'll help optimise the process itself, turning trial-and-error into predictive design. 

Why it matters: Your work will directly target UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, while cutting the energy and water footprint of manufacturing. You'll contribute to making a vital global industry genuinely sustainable. 

What you'll gain: 

• Expertise in computational modelling, soft-matter physics and particle simulation. 

• Expertise in written and verbal communication. 

• Real-world industrial relevance and collaboration. 

• Skills spanning coding, physics and chemical engineering, which are highly sought after in academia and industry.

We're looking for: A curious, motivated graduate in physics, chemical engineering, applied maths or a related field, with an appetite for problem solving.

Dixon, A., Hone, J., Melaugh, G. and Ness, C., 2026. Rheology of dense suspensions of granular spherocylinders by particle-based simulation. arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.28206. Ness, C., Seto, R. and Mari, R., 2022. The physics of dense suspensions. Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics, 13(1), pp.97-117.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in an appropriate subject, or relevant qualifications and experience.

There may be industry funding available for this project for Home applicants (UK & EU with settled/pre-settled status), please enquire.

Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships form the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.

Further information and other funding options.

Flame spread over solids is a key aspect of fire science. It shapes how we assess the hazard of materials and systems, from the built environment to wildland fuels. Yet our ability to predict flame spread rates remains limited, even after decades of research. The main reason is that the governing processes occur in a narrow region near the leading edge of the flame, where heat transfer, gas-phase chemistry, and fluid mechanics are strongly coupled and where the measurements needed to separate and quantify these effects have been largely unavailable. 

The project will address the current knowledge gaps by building a new experimental picture of flame spread. The aim is to generate the measurements required to (i) improve fundamental understanding and (ii) provide a high-quality dataset for the development and validation of predictive numerical models. You will study opposed flame spread (OFS) and concurrent flame spread (CFS), with an emphasis on the interactions between the environmental variables and the resulting flame spread rate and the controlling processes. A central theme is to quantify what sets the flame spread rate by closing the energy balance near the spread front and linking it to the flame structure and mixing/chemistry length scales. The work will use and integrate a range of experimental methodologies and will specifically seek to bridge the gap between fire science methods and more advanced optical diagnostics which may include high-resolution gas-phase thermometry and species measurements, surface temperature diagnostics for pyrolysing solids, flow-field measurements to resolve mixing, and diagnostics relevant to soot/radiation. 

This PhD project is aligned with the EPSRC-funded project Shining a Light on Flame Spread and the successful candidate will join a team composing a postdoctoral research associate, experimental officers and an existing PhD student, as well as the academics.

https://eng.ed.ac.uk/fsmm 

Candidate profile:

We are looking for a candidate with a strong background in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a closely related area. You should be comfortable with quantitative thinking and keen to work at the interface of experiment and analysis. 

Useful experience (not essential) includes: 

• heat transfer, fluid mechanics, combustion, transport phenomena, or thermodynamics 

• experimental work in fire science or experience with optical diagnostics 

• data analysis and programming (e.g., Python/Matlab) 

• careful experimental practice, uncertainty awareness, and clear communication 

This PhD suits someone who wants to develop high-level experimental skills and produce results that directly support the wider fire science and modelling community, with relevance to fire safety challenges in the built and natural environments.

Funding is available to Home applicants (UK & EU with settled/pre-settled status).

Further information and other funding options.

Why join this project? 

This PhD project is part of HORUS 4D, a £2.2M consortium comprising six academic institutions in the UK and France dedicated to advancing 4D printing. The selected candidate will operate at the forefront of morphing structures research, developing foundational principles that could support future technologies across aerospace, space systems, robotics, transportation, and biomedical devices. They will have access to cutting-edge manufacturing and characterisation facilities and will be immersed in a research environment focused on high-impact, interdisciplinary engineering science. The position offers numerous networking opportunities, including participation in workshops and international conferences. Additionally, three-month secondments at partner institutions will be incorporated into the work plan. 

Host: School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, UK, ESTACA Ecole d’Ingénieurs, France. Supervisors: Francisca Martinez Hergueta, Matteo Taffetani, Thuy-Quynh Truong-Hoang, Marcelo Dias 

Funding for eligible candidates is sponsored by Dstl. 

Successful candidate will be expected to start their position in September 2026 (duration 3 years).

How to apply 

Please submit: 

1. CV (including relevant projects and technical skills) 

2. Cover letter / personal statement (max 300 words) explaining your interest in 4D printing/morphing structures and how your skills match the project 

3. Academic transcripts (or list of grades if transcripts are not yet available) 

4. Names/contact details of two referees

Minimum criteria: 

• a 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent).
• the University’s English language requirements.

Tuition fees + stipend are available for Home students only

To qualify as a Home student, you must fulfil one of the following criteria:

- You are a UK student

- You are an EU student with settled/pre-settled status who also has 3 years residency in the UK/EEA/Gibraltar/Switzerland immediately before the start of your Programme. (International students not eligible.)

Further information and other funding options.

Are you interested in pursuing a PhD at the interface of chemical engineering, materials science, and microbiology at the University of Edinburgh? We are seeking a talented, motivated, and curious PhD student to develop innovative strategies for the safe and sustainable reprocessing of reusable medical devices. Reusable medical devices are central to modern healthcare. Their use reduces costs for healthcare systems such as the NHS and minimises environmental impact compared to single-use alternatives. However, their safe reuse depends critically on effective decontamination. While cleaning removes visible contamination, disinfection targets microscopic pathogens from previous patients. These microorganisms often exist as complex, highly resistant biofilm communities that are difficult to eradicate. Current reprocessing methods rely on aggressive physical and chemical treatments, which can unintentionally damage device surfaces. This can lead to microplastic release, as well as the formation of microcracks and surface grooves that promote further bacterial adhesion and resistance.

This project addresses a key challenge:

How can we effectively disinfect reusable medical devices without degrading materials or promoting microbial attachment? You will work with a custom-built laboratory system to simulate decontamination processes in a controlled manner.

This will enable you to:

• Investigate how different cleaning conditions influence surface degradation and microplastic release
• Grow and analyse biofilms on treated surfaces using advanced microscopy techniques
• Explore whether engineered surface patterns can reduce microbial attachment
• Develop and test surface functionalisation strategies to inhibit biofilm formation

This interdisciplinary project combines experimentation, surface engineering, and microbiological analysis. You will also collaborate with leading UK medical device reprocessing companies, ensuring strong real-world impact. As a PhD student, you will benefit from a dynamic research environment and opportunities to present your work at conferences, workshops, and seminars, while building both academic and industry collaborations.

Closing Date 22nd September 2026 

Please note that the position may be filled before the closing date if a suitable candidate is identified. 

Application Documents 

• Curriculum Vitae
• Degree Transcripts and Certificates
• Research Proposal (not more than 3 pages)

For informal enquiries, please contact: eepelle@ed.ac.uk . The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates.

• Ozone Decontamination of Medical and Nonmedical Devices: An Assessment of Design and Implementation Considerations: (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.2c03754).
• Efficacy of gaseous ozone and UVC radiation against Candida auris biofilms on polystyrene surfaces (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2024.113862).

• An excellent undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree, or international equivalent) in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field
• A Master’s degree (MSc/MEng) in a relevant discipline is desirable
• Interest in surface science, interfacial engineering, microbiology, and laboratory-based research
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Experience with microscopy techniques (SEM, TEM, AFM) is advantageous

This project is currently open to self-funded applicants. You will be embedded within a highly supportive and well-resourced research environment at the University of Edinburgh, with access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. Exceptional candidates will also be supported in applying for competitive external funding opportunities, scholarships, and sponsorships as they arise.

Further information and other funding options.

This PhD tackles a fundamental open problem in soft matter physics that sits at the heart of multiple industries and natural systems: the rheology of dense suspensions of elongated particles. Why does a slurry packed with cellulose fibres flow so differently from one packed with spherical particles? What common principles govern the flow and mechanical behaviour of crystal-laden lavas, river logjams, recycled carbon-fibre composites and bacterial suspensions, and how do we develop predictive models useful to real world practitioners? Despite decades of progress on dense suspensions of spheres, culminating in unified flow laws and quantitative theories of jamming, an equivalent description for rod-shaped particles do not yet exist. You will help build it. The project will combine particle-based simulation with continuum modelling to deliver the first physics based constitutive model for dense rod suspensions, resolving how alignment, packing fraction and heterogeneous flow interact to produce stress. You will work at an active frontier of contemporary soft matter physics, joining a group with a strong international profile and an active track record of publishing in Physical Review Letters, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, and other important journals. The science is genuinely fundamental, but its applications are immediate: your insights will feed directly into our basic understanding of manufacturing process such as speciality chemical crystallisation, composite recycling for the circular economy, and volcanic hazard prediction. You will become fluent in modern computational soft matter, writing and deploying GPU-based particle simulation codes; utilising Edinburgh's Eddie cluster and ARCHER2; statistical analyses of high-dimensional simulation data; and continuum modelling. You will have the opportunity to write your own codes from scratch and to use standard open source codes such as LAMMPS and OpenFOAM. You will graduate with a skillset that maps onto careers in academic research, computational materials science, engineering R&D and quantitative industry roles. You will be supported by Dr Chris Ness, Reader in Chemical Engineering, who runs an active group with a strong record of researcher development. You will be embedded in an international collaborator network, will attend major conferences in the field, and will contribute to open-source software releases that the wider community will use. We are seeking a motivated graduate in physics, applied maths, mechanical or chemical engineering, materials science or a related discipline, with an insatiable curiosity about how things flow. Prior simulation experience is welcome but not required.

Minimum entry requirements

• a 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent).
• the University’s English language requirements.

Funding may be available for this project, please enquire.

Further information and other funding options.