PhD opportunities

Are you an electrical or mechanical engineer looking to apply your background to next generation electrical technologies in pursuit of Carbon Net Zero? We are seeking a motivated PhD candidate to join The Electrical Machine Works, to develop advanced design and manufacturing tools necessary to realise step changes in high-performance electric engines (machines or motors). The successful candidate will develop technology in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover for premium automotive applications.

See the full advert: PhD Advert - JLR-The Electrical Machine Works (PDF, 1,038kB)

Contact: Dr Nick Simpson: nick.simpson@bristol.ac.uk

Microelectronics and preventing floods? What is the link? This PhD opportunity will develop miniature sensors that last for decades without charging. 

Recent developments in microelectronics have allowed electronic circuits to be powered by miniature energy harvesters and even sensors themselves. This has the potential to lead to battery-free Internet of Things devices, for example to alert us to natural disasters such as floods. There are many useful applications for small systems that do not require battery replacement, in sprawling systems such as power grids or transport networks, or in remote structures such as wind turbines or storage systems.

This PhD offers great opportunities to trial your methods in real-life situations, with plenty of opportunity to collaborate with industry. This PhD will work with the world’s lowest-power electronic devices, some of which have been developed in the Bristol Electrical Energy Management (EEMG) research group (bristol.ac.uk/engineering/research/em/). The EEMG at the University of Bristol is a multi-disciplinary team of PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and academics who have developed some of the world’s lowest-power electronic devices.

The PhD can focus either on microelectronic design or on the use of already existing components to develop ultra-long-life sensors, depending on your background. A core research question will revolve around how to power certain functions of smart devices from sensor output signals alone. We are looking to hear from enthusiastic and exceptional students.

Contact: Professor Bernard Stark: bernard.stark@bristol.ac.uk

Emergence of wide-bandgap power semiconductor devices, especially Silicon Carbide (SiC) & Gallium Nitride (GaN) power devices has opened pioneering avenues for application of power electronics in power systems & electric vehicles. These devices increase the energy conversion efficiency which in turn reduce the power losses & unwanted heat & so contribute to greener energy.

Due to the large band-gap & high critical electric field, these new devices are able to operate under significantly higher electro-thermal stress. This can then be used in the next generation of modular multi-level (MMC) voltage-sourced converters (VSC) in high voltage direct current (HVDC) stations. As a result, the converter will be simplified which in turn enables simpler control, higher energy conversion efficiency & easier fault detection.

A core focus of this research will be to understand the opportunities & challenges in the application of devices in high voltage grid-level & electric vehicle applications. Developing converters will enable comparison between the devices from a performance & reliability perspective. This PhD offers great opportunities to trial new methods in real-life situations, with opportunity to collaborate closely with industrial partners EA Technology, General Electric & Dynex Semiconductor.

The PhD candidate will be supported by two supervisors with different expertise & will be expected to carry out theoretical analysis & experimentation.

Technical support from EA Technology, General Electric and Dynex Semiconductor. 

Funding for this research position is subject to competition for a University of Bristol Postgraduate Research Scholarship scheme only. More information can be found here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/fees-funding/awards/pg-research-scholarship/

Ideal Candidate requirements would be in Electrical or Electronic Engineering or a related discipline, with knowledge of Power Electronics or Electronic Devices. Further information can be found on the PhD Electrical and Electronic Engineering Admissions Statement.

For questions about the research and funding support contact Dr Saeed Jahdi at saeed.jahdi@bristol.ac.uk

For questions about eligibility and the application process please contact Postgraduate Research Admissions sceem-pgr-admissions@bristol.ac.uk

What does it take to design a high performance, ultra-compact power electronic systems needed by the growing electric vehicle sector? Or maximise the efficiency of renewable micro-grid converters while minimising their cost?

How can we utilise the full potential of state-of-the-art wide bandgap (WBG) devices that are currently revolutionising the power electronics industry? In order to do this, engineers need a holistic design tool that optimises every element of a power electronics system. Smart automated software is needed to ensure that the systems needed work together to produce the optimal design.

This PhD will focus on developing the software tools needed to holistically optimise power electronic converters. It will involve modelling all the core electrical, thermal and mechanical components in a power converter; developing system models and optimisation routines; and designing, building and benchmarking power electronic hardware and software. The tools that will be developed will utilise the latest power electronic topologies and components to produce state-of-the-art power electronic converters.

Contact: Dr Ian Laird: Ian.laird@bristol.ac.uk

Are you a material science or chemistry graduate looking to apply your background to next generation electrical technologies in pursuit of Carbon Net Zero? We are seeking a motivated PhD candidate to join The Electrical Machine Works, University of Bristol, to develop high-performance electrical insulation coatings and coating processes for metal 3D printed windings. The successful candidate will work in a multi-institution, multi-disciplinary team across material science, process development, design for additive manufacture and experimental testing with opportunity for industrial collaboration and commercialisation.

Contact: Dr Nick Simpson: nick.simpson@bristol.ac.uk

This project is aimed at investigating and developing new methodologies for climate change adaptation in power systems considering interdependent transportation and urban infrastructure systems.

For full details of this funded opportunity see the 'Electrical and Electronic Engineering' section of this page: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/postgraduate/funding/

Contact: For questions about the research topic contact Dr Laiz Souto at laiz.souto@bristol.ac.uk

Innovative semi-conductor materials, GaN and SiC, offer significant design and performance-based benefits over silicon and are a real competitive advantage.

Would you like to address the challenges of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by enhancing energy efficiency in vehicles, or by making equipment more compact and lightweight? Are you interested in renewable energy and the technology that turns a variable supply of electricity into the reliable flow of power that users require? A step-change in technology from silicon to GaN and SiC is looming, where the core of power management equipment is going to drastically shrink and become more efficient. International companies need experts in this emerging field of PE engineering.

This PhD will work with the world’s fastest and most efficient power electronics, GaN and SiC transistors. It will also involve a novel active gatedriving technology and a unique GHz current sensing technology developed in the EEMG, a multi-disciplinary team of PhD students, researchers and academics who developed some of the world’s fastest GaN circuits, gate drivers, and lowest-power electronic sensors. Together we develop new applications and techniques to help companies adopt these emerging PE technologies

Contact: Professor Bernard Stark: bernard.stark@bristol.ac.uk