Extended Project

The Extended Project is an approximately five-month research project, carried out from April to September in research groups around the University, that MSc students write up as their final dissertation. In 2020-21, MSc students are completing projects on the following topics:

• Transition Metal Sulfide Nanostructures for Solar Energy Conversion and Solar Fuels, supervised by Prof. David Fermin (Chemistry).
• Ferrite based photoelectrodes, supervised by Prof. David Fermin (Chemistry).
• Dynamic Plasmonic Metamaterials, supervised by Dr Andrei Sarua (Physics)
• Dip coating of Boron nitride nano-ink on polyurethane material to improve damping and multifunctional characteristics, supervised by Prof. Fabrizio Scarpa (Aerospace Engineering)
• Building the next generation of high affinity imaging probes, supervised by Prof. Paul Verkade (Biochemistry)
• Developing a convolutional neural network based on the SCFI method to perform rapid recognition of bacterial species and their susceptibility to antimicrobials, supervised by Drs Massimo Antognozzi (Physics) and Darryl Hill (Cellular and Molecular Medicine)

Up to 2019-20, both MSc and first-year PhD students carried out an extended project as, respectively, the initial stage of their PhD project or their final dissertation project. PhD students worked on the following projects in 2019/20:

• Novel 2D graphene/metal oxide composite catalysts for photoredox catalysis with Robin Bedford (Chemistry) and Sam Burrow (Anaphite, project sponsor)
• Synthesis and isotopic control of diamond films for radiation conversion applications with Neil Fox (Physics & Chemistry) and Nicholas Bazin (AWE, project sponsor)
• The rational design of artificial membrane binding proteins for advanced cell therapies with Adam Perriman (Cellular and Molecular Medicine) and Ben Carter (Cytoseek, project sponsor)

MSc students carried out the following projects in 2019/20:

• Interfacing living and non-living matter: synthetic prototissues that stimulate the growth of engineerded human skin with Sara Carreira (Cellular & Molecular Medicine) and Pierangelo Gobbo (Chemistry)
• Focusing high frequency sound into nanoscale dimensions with Krishna Coimbatore Balram (Electrical & Electronic Engineering) and Martin Cryan (Electrical & Electronic Engineering)
• Passive Tracer Spheres in an Active Dumbell System with Paddy Royall (Physics) and Tanniemola Liverpool (Mathematics)
• Towards nonlinear plasmonics - plasmonic nanostructures in crystalline materials with Henkjan Gersen (Physics) and Krishna Coimbatore Balram (Electrical & Electronic Engineering)
• Towards Smarter Materials: Bottom-up Approaches to Macroscale Functionalities with Sebastien Rochat (Engineerig Maths) and Valeska Ting (Mechanical Engineering)
• Antimicrobial activity of biomimetic nanostructured surfaces with Bo Su (Oral & Dental Sciences) and Angela Nobbs (Oral & Dental Sciences)
• In-situ Photogeneration and Characterisation of Nanocatalyst-Laden Materials for 3D Printing Soft Robotics with Charl Faul (Chemistry) and Michael Dicker (Aerospace Engineering) 

In 2018/19 PhD students completed the following projects: 

• Networks Across the Lengthscales: Self-assembled Gels from Molecules to Colloids with Paddy Royall (Physics) and John Russo (Mathematics) 
• The Synthesis and Analysis of Novel Nanostructures of High Temperature Superconductors with Simon Hall (Chemistry) and Sven Friedemann (Physics) 
• Functionalised Colloids for Active Machines with Paddy Royall (Physics) and Tanniemola Liverpool (Mathematics) 
• Real-time monitoring of the effects of antibiotics and immunological components on gonorrhoea at the single cell level with Darryl Hill (Cellular & Molecular Medicine) and Massimo Antognozzi (Physics)  
• Universality from Proteins to Neural Networks through Criticality with Paddy Royall (Physics) and Naoki Masuda (Engineering Maths) 
• Hidden in plain sight: are plants really green with Heather Whitney (Biological Sciences) and Tom Oliver (Chemistry)
• Synthesis and characterisation of lithiated tin monoxide - a potential ultra-low work function multilayer for terminating diamond surfaces with Neil Fox (Physics & Chemistry) and David Fermin (Chemistry)
• Unravelling the molecular mechanisms that drive mitotic defects in human Pluripotent Stem Cells and their potential impact in tumourigenic potential with Rafael Carazo Salas (Cellular & Molecular Medicine) and Samantha Peel (AstraZeneca, project sponsor). 
• Carbon dots for large-area displays with Carmen Galan (Organic and Biological Chemistry) and Stephen Hughes (DST Innovations Ltd., project sponsor)

 MSc students did the following projects in 2018/19:

• Synthesis and Spectromicroscopy studies of isotopically pure semiconducting diamond  for radiation conversion and fusion energy with Neil Fox (Physics & Chemistry) and Tom Scott (Physics) 
• Oxide nanostructures as active components in electrochemical energy conversion and solar fuels with David Fermin (Chemistry) and Neil Fox (Physics & Chemistry)
• Melting Point Depression as a Function of Nanoparticle Size with Sean Davis (Chemistry) and Simon Hall (Chemistry)
• Dynamic plasmonics metamaterials tuned by surface electrochemistry with Natasa Vasiljevic (Physics) and Andrei Sarua (Physics) 
• Programming diamond - Utilising Block Copolymer Micelles of well-defined shape to create 3-dimensional diamond constructs with nano-scale resolution with Paul May (Chemistry) and Rob Harniman (Chemistry)
• Optimising Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles Beyond the State-of-the-Art with Paddy Royall (Physics) and John Russo (Mathematics) 
• Direct imaging of cellular nano-fluctuations and it's application to drug testing and diagnostics with Anne Ridley (Cellular & Molecular Medicine) and Massimo Antognozzi (Physics)