Current project opportunities

The University of Bristol and University of Nottingham are offering projects for doctoral studies starting in September 2026 with a focus on the creation of sustainable and efficient solutions for the design of composite structures. We offer Engineering Doctorate (EngD) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) qualifications, with the main distinction being that EngD students will spend up to 75% of their time conducting research at the location of their industrial sponsor. The CDT was launched in 2024 and follows on from five previous successful CDT in Bristol Composites Institute (BCI).

The training will focus on you becoming a future leader, with doctoral level qualifications, and the skills and expertise to address the design, manufacture and assurance of composite products. You will follow a taught programme that provides an in depth knowledge of composite materials and their use, with a focus on sustainability and the circular economy, whist conducting cutting edge industrially relevant research. A structured professional development programme tailored to individual aspirations will support your future career in either industry or academia.

We are seeking highly motivated and committed individuals with an eye on the future, who are interested in conducting stimulating and essential, industrially relevant, research and have a passion for finding sustainable solutions. There are many challenges in understanding the behaviour of composite materials and structures, so the projects seek to develop new manufacturing routes, design concepts, analysis procedures and development of new solutions.

Type of award: Engineering Doctorate/Doctor of Philosophy

Research focus areas: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Design Engineering, Research group Bristol Composites Institute

Scholarship Details: An enhanced stipend of £26,780 for 2026/27, a fee waiver and generous financial support for research and training for the successful candidates.

Duration: 4 years

Eligibility Home/International (Projects 1 and 2 UK nationals only subject to security clearance)

Start Date: September 2026

Candidate Requirements

Applicants should meet one of the following:

A minimum of a 2:1 MEng or integrated Masters degree in engineering, physics, or chemistry; or
A merit or above in a relevant MSc or other taught Masters programme; or
In exceptional cases, a first-class BEng or BSc (Hons) degree in a relevant subject, with evidence of readiness to undertake research at doctoral level (such as relevant research or industry experience).

Equivalent International qualifications can also be considered. Further information about international qualification requirements is available on our website, where we provide information about applying from your country.

Admission is also subject to:

Demonstrating readiness to undertake research at doctoral level (through academic record, references, and/or research experience).
Satisfactory performance at interview, which will assess subject knowledge, motivation, and suitability for the programme.

Closing Date: 12^th January 2026

We are offering the following studentship projects:

Project 1: EngD on Use of Sustainable and Fire Retardant Polymer Damping Materials and Recycling Methods for Marine Applications sponsored by TODS Technology (Supervisor: Professor Richard Trask)

Project 2: PhD on Design and Development for a Sustainable Graded Multifunctional Marine Composite sponsored by BAE Systems (Supervisor: Professor Ian Hamerton)

Project 3: EngD on Double Diaphragm Forming for Sustainable Composites Manufacturing, sponsored by Syensqo (Supervised by Professor Lee Harper)

Project 4: EngD on Origami Approach to Forming Composite Spars for Aerospace sponsored by GKN Aerospace (Supervised by Dr Mark Schenk)

Project 5: EngD on Novel and Sustainable Tooling in Aerospace Composites sponsored by GKN Aerospace (Supervised by Dr Dimitry Ivanov)

Project 6: EngD on Multi-Stage Simulation of Aerospace Out-of-Autoclave Composite Manufacture sponsored by GKN Aerospace (Supervised by Dr Mikhail Mateev)

Project 7: EngD on Artificial Intelligence for Systems Engineering sponsored by NCC (supervised by Dr Chris Snider)

Project 8: EngD on Cross-Supply Chain Analytics and Reporting for High Value Manufacturing Resilience sponsored by NCC (by supervised Dr Maria Valero)

Project 9: EngD on Adaptive Manufacturing sponsored by NCC (supervised by Dr Dimitry Ivanov)

Scroll down for project details and to apply

Project 1 Description (EngD): Use of Sustainable and Fire Retardant Polymer Damping Materials and Recycling Methods for Marine Applications sponsored by TODS Technology

Polymer damping treatments are used extensively in the marine industry for a wide range of applications. These include high performance materials that are tuned for different functions, and due to their composition, do not fit into the category of easily recyclable materials. Currently, there is not a clear environmental policy on end of life disposal or specific recycling requirements for these materials. However, environmental requirements are now starting to emerge on the global mission to achieve net zero. Tods are committed to contributing to this environmental remit and require dedicated research on effective recycling methods and the use of more sustainable damping materials that do not significantly degrade structural, damping and long term environmental performance. Due to the flammable nature of traditional damping materials, new materials with increased fire retardancy are also required. The EngD project will:

Conduct a detailed critical review to establish best current practice.
Select appropriate recycling methods and new candidate sustainable and fire retardant materials.
Identify appropriate efficient manufacturing processes to produce candidate materials.
Devise a comprehensive material testing campaign to investigate structural performance, adhesion characteristics, resistance to environmental degradation, damping characteristics and fire performance.
Be based at Tods Portland in the final three years of the programme utilise their facilities and conducting testing in an industrial setting.
Enthuse you interest in creating ground breaking advances for the marine sector and create new practices that enable environmental sustainability.

Eligibility: UK citizens subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience and why you are interested in the EngD project, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/. Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined and select EngD in Composites Manufacture. Please enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2^nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering.

Project 2 Description (PhD): Design and Development for a Sustainable Graded Multifunctional Marine Composite sponsored by BAE Systems

Composites are corrosion resistant, so they make ideal materials for the marine sector, however many composite formulations do not meet the stringent fire, smoke and toxicity (FST) requirements for non-metallic materials. Recently, interest has turned to the design and development of multifunctional composites, with the aim to utilise mechanical performance in structural applications whilst providing other functions, such as acoustic shielding and thermal resistance. Hence, the project seeks to identify suitable multifunctional and functionally graded material (FGM) composites for first time adoption in the marine sector. A further challenge is to meet the demand of BAE Systems and legislative policies regarding sustainability, as typical marine grade composites are made using thermosetting polymers that are difficult to recycle with high embodied carbon in their synthesis. Hence this PhD project will:

Design, develop and characterise a multifunctional sustainable marine grade composite, comprising a bio-derived resin formulated at The University of Bristol.
Recycled or waste fibres will be processed into tapes to produce materials using the HiPerDiF process.
FGMs will be created using a variety of fibre architectures including investigation of auxetic textiles to improve impact resistance.
Demonstrate that the combination and design of the FGM composite that is suitable for harsh and extreme environments, by testing at different scales.
Demonstrate the environmental sustainability through a Life Cycle Assessment
Enthuse your interest in creating sustainable high performance novel composite materials suitable for application in the Maritime Sector in close cooperation with industry.

Eligibility: UK citizens only subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience and why you are interested in the PhD project, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/. Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined and select PhD in Advanced Composites. Please enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2^nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering.

Project 3 Description (EngD): Double Diaphragm Forming for Sustainable Composites Manufacturing sponsored by Syensqo

Double diaphragm forming (DDF) is a promising means of producing sustainable fibre-reinforced composites, offering key advantages over traditional autoclave processing of prepreg sheet materials. The benefits, including reduced manual labour and shorter process times, align with the broader goals of environmentally responsible manufacturing, material efficiency, and high-performance composite production. Despite these benefits DDF for larger volume manufacturing achieving defect-free components remains a challenge, as numerous interdependent material and process parameters are involved that are difficult to optimise manually. Maintaining precise fibre orientation to prevent localised wrinkling, requires careful control, otherwise DDF components are prone to defects, which may exhibit inferior mechanical properties compared to those produced using traditional processes. Further challenges exist in understanding the temperature sensitivity and differing cure cycles of the component sheet materials as well a dealing with their directional properties because of the anisotropic nature of the prepreg sheets. Achieving the desired geometry in a defect free DDF finished component requires careful selection of materials and processing parameters. This project will:

Develop a reliable simulation model to identify suitable material combinations to substantially reduce, or even eliminate, the need for physical feasibility trials.
Define a suite of deployable tools and predictive models to identify optimal polymer film and prepreg chemistry combinations over a range of cure cycles.
Provide you with hands-on experience at one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies, working with real-world industrial-scale composite manufacture, alongside state-of-the-art composite materials.
Deepen your passion for automated manufacturing processes, driving the development of sustainable composite structures for high-performance applications, preparing you for a career at the intersection of innovation and industry.
Support Syensqo’s ambition of promoting DDF in the composites industry by developing the knowledge, skills and end-user tools.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience and your interests in the EngD project, plus your CV and transcript of results to

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pgstudy/how-to-apply/apply-online.aspx

Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined. Please enter Professor Lee Harper as the main supervisor (lee.harper@nottingham.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is being provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering. 

Project 4 Description (EngD): Origami Approach to Forming Composite Spars for Aerospace sponsored by GKN Aerospace

For the next generation of aircraft, where provision is made for sustainable and high-rate production of aircraft structures, processes such as resin transfer moulding (RTM) are being explored to reduce the energy wastage associated with more traditional approaches. The spar is a structural component that runs the length of the wing, which can be over 15 metres long, and there is the goal to be able to produce as many as 100 parts per month. GKN Aerospace are investigating the forming of dry carbon fibre fabric to shape prior to infusing with a polymer matrix using the RTM process. The ancient practice of origami is a potential route for rapid and repeatable forming of the dry fibre material for the spars. The EngD project will:

Investigate the principles of origami and its application to structural aerospace components.
Develop proposals for origami based forming strategies for relevant geometries.
Demonstrate the potential of reducing defects and waste material by using the origami approach to inform the material shapes, folds and cuts.
Produce demonstrator items at the GKN Global Technology Centre located in Bristol.
Excite your interest in sustainable manufacturing for composite aircraft structures.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

Project 5 Description (EngD): Novel and Sustainable Tooling in Aerospace Composites sponsored by GKN Aerospace

Typically aerospace composites have been made using an expensive, energy intensive and time consuming process based on the use of autoclaves, reported to have a thermal efficiency of around 2%. For the next generation of large aircraft structures, manufacturing processes that do not use autoclaves, are being investigated as a sustainable route to manufacture. The tooling and heating method used for curing the composite parts are crucial elements in ensuring high-rate and high-quality aerospace parts. Durable tooling that can withstand repeated cycles is required to achieve part rates of up to 100 per month and material innovations such as the use of recycled composites or additive manufacturing could offer reduced cost solutions. For maximum efficiency in curing large structural parts, direct heating elements must be incorporated in the tool instead of heating large space in an autoclave or oven. The heating element is an area with significant scope for novel ideas to be developed and can allow the environmental impact of each part to be greatly reduced. The EngD project will:

Investigate thermal control, ensuring both the tool and composite part is within temperature tolerances at all stages of the manufacture.
Consider concepts such as induction heating, embedded circuits or materials to control the heating in zones.
Consider the use of recycled composites or novel materials for improved tooling durability.
Study additive manufacturing as a possible means of forming heating and cooling channels in the tool.
Where relevant, create physics models using machine learning to enable thermal control and simulation.
Produce a demonstrator system for novel self-heated tooling, including small scale experiments and data collection at GKN Global Technology Centre in Bristol.
Excite your interest in developing new manufacturing approaches that reduce embodied energy and enable rapid production of aircraft quality parts.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

Project 6 Description (EngD): Multi-Stage Simulation of Aerospace Out-of-Autoclave Composite Manufacture sponsored by GKN Aerospace

Resin transfer moulding (RTM) provides a route to reduce the energy wastage in composites manufacturing. It enables components to be produced quickly without the use of an autoclave. For complex geometries, such as those used in wing spars of considerable length, a dry carbon fibre fabric needs to be formed to shape before injecting the polymer matrix. During dry fabric forming, defects such as wrinkles can occur, which cause parts to be scrapped. To minimise material and energy wastage, digital models of the manufacturing processes can be developed and linked to process control and optimisation. State-of-the-art digital models and AI tools that incorporate machine learning could enable predictions of the dry fibre forming that are subsequently used as input into the RTM process model. The EngD project will:

Investigate the multi-stage modelling approach for use with dry fibre forming and RTM manufacturing processes.
Assess if a modelling approach can inform process control and optimisation, leading to a reduced part scrap rate.
Build simulation tools that support the understanding of defect generation during forming.
Identify state-of-the-art software and methodologies for modelling composite manufacturing processes and demonstrate how they would be integrated within production facilities.
Excite your interest in creating manufacturing process models with a view to creating more sustainable aircraft parts.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience and your interests in the EngD project, plus your CV and transcript of results to

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pgstudy/how-to-apply/apply-online.aspx

Project 7 Description (EngD): Artificial Intelligence for Systems Engineering sponsored by NCC

Systems Engineering is described as “the application of systems thinking – an approach to problem-solving that views 'problems' as part of a wider, dynamic system – to the realisation of stakeholder needs, when developing engineered products and services”, which is a core capability in the design and development of complex products. Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is currently in its infancy, increasing complex future systems with interconnectedness requiring enhanced collaboration, will require state-of-the-art digital technologies for rapid evaluation of product performance. Unified Modelling and Simulation (ModSim) approaches will rapidly iterate design concepts and perform parallel, multi-disciplinary assessments of key performance criteria including compliance against a wide range of customer expectations and regulatory demands. The future state will utilise 3D models as the master or single source-of-truth, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate discovery, development and demonstration of novel system architectures. The EngD project will:

Support the Systems Engineering Capability Development programme at NCC focussing on tools, techniques and practices to improve efficiency, quality and value.
Build a clear picture of AI and MBSE activities, opportunities and research efforts across the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC), the wider UK landscape and international programmes.
Develop an informed view of current AI methods, tools and algorithmic approaches, identifying where they offer the most value within engineering workflows.
Carry out a structured comparison and subsequent gap analysis to highlight areas where existing systems engineering capabilities may need further maturity or enhancement.
Create and refine practical methods, tools and demonstrators that demonstrate AI in the support Systems Engineering activities within NCC, HVMC and other national initiatives.
Demonstrate the benefits of MBSE in early product lifecycle such as: defining requirements, planning and assessment, concept development and system architecture exploration.
Investigate implementation of MBSE in verification, validation, uncertainty analysis and generating evidence generation to provide traceability, confidence and supporting evidence for product certification and compliance.
Excite your interest in utilising MBSE to provide underpinning capability by inclusion in design tools the incorporate AI to improve efficiency and productivity throughout the design and development of complex products.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

Project 8 Description (EngD): Cross-Supply Chain Analytics and Reporting for High Value Manufacturing Resilience sponsored by NCC

As manufacturing supply chains grow in complexity, size, and have increasingly higher demands for regulatory conformance and global resiliency, cross (X)-supply chain information sharing has become a requirement for enhanced monitoring, analytics and reporting verification for sustainable performance (technical, cost, social, and environmental target management). Common challenges include connectivity to diverse software used across the supply chain, manual data sharing efforts, data quality and loss. A new approach is requires that comprises an end-to-end federated approach to achieve sustainability targets that requires management across a distributed supply chain. The Internet of Things (IoT) will support data captured by sensors, to combine with information analytics between discrete business entities to create a live monitoring and reporting. The EngD project will:

Develop pathways for achieving a Xsupply chain information sharing software connectivity approach including harmonized data models, dynamic connections between supply chain software tools.
Provide leadership in application of emerging regulatory requirements such as digital product passports.
Explore a digital twin approach using AAS (Asset Administration Submodels), in combination with harmonization against relevant standards for data model management.
Incorporate legal and regulatory mapping to understand the implications on software solution architecture.
Excite your interest in leading expert participation on topics including federated capabilities, asset administration and digital product passport definitions, utilising your business mindset.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

Project 9 Description (EngD): Adaptive Manufacturing sponsored by NCC

Several key high value products include wind turbine blades, aircraft wings and other high-performing large composite structures are manufactured using a composite resin infusion process. The current manual nature of aspects of the production present several unique challenges. These can be address through the introduction of technologies such as AI/Machine Learning, advanced sensors, and the internet of things (IoT). These have enabled a new field of engineering called Adaptive Manufacturing as a potential route to transform manufacturing processes, whereby engineers no longer specify process parameters such as temperatures or pressures but instead specify quality or output requirements. In the context of composites this could be specifying the need for a fully infused part, or a defined degree of cure. The manufacturing system comprises Artificial Intelligence models, which utilises sensor information to control actuation systems, and then steers the manufacturing process in real time to deliver the desired output. Adaptive Manufacturing is a subset of Digital Twinning, and much of the deployed technology used can also serve additional functions such as developing digital part passports or performing automated part quality assurance. The EngD project will:

Explore the concept of adaptive manufacturing technology readiness and accelerate its adoption into industry..
Train machine learning (ML) models to monitor processes is real time to identify defect evolution and take corrective action.
Investigate the possibility of using the data collected during the manufacturing process as a means to automatic quality assurance.
Build and deploy system components such as ML models, sensor arrays and actuators into physical demonstrators that showcase the benefits of adaptive manufacturing in operation.
Excite your interest in developing right every time composite manufacturing procedures that can be used in a wide range of processes.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

Closing Date: 12^th January 2026