Research Projects

We are offering a wide range of projects across three broad research areas for PhDs starting in 2019. See below for a list of staff who are available to take on students, and a list of currently available research projects. All of our staff welcome informal inquiries about their research and potential PhD projects, but please get in touch with the PhD admissions tutor, Prof. Richard Nelson, with more general enquiries.

The following AU members are available to take on PhD students for 2019 (projects are listed below):

Cosmology and Relativity: Tessa Baker, Phil Bull, Chris Clarkson, Tim Clifton, Karim Malik, David Mulryne, Alkistis Pourtsidou, Will Sutherland

• Cosmology Theory Meets Data: Modelling Non-Linear Scales for Dark Energy Experiments
• Early Universe Physics
• Foundations of relativistic cosmology
• Frontiers of Precision Cosmology
• Mapping the cosmic horizon with next-generation surveys
• Relativistic Cosmology in The Era of Large Scale Surveys
• Survey Astronomy
• Unveiling Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionisation with HERA

See our recruitment poster for 2019: Cosmology PhD projects 2019 [PDF 8,582KB]

Planetary Formation and Dynamics: Craig Agnor, Richard Nelson, Sijme-Jan Paardekooper

• Collisional Evolution of Planets and Satellites
• Disc-planet interactions in non-isothermal discs
• Dust-gas interactions and the signatures of planets in discs
• Planetary formation and migration
• Planet formation by gravitational instabilities 

Space, Solar, and Astrophysical Plasmas: David Burgess, Christopher Chen, David Tsiklauri

• Solar Plasma Physics
• Space and Astrophysical Plasma Physics

See also the PhD project list for the entire School of Physics and Astronomy.