Research Group: Center for Condensed Matter Physics Number of Students: 1 Length of Study in Years: 4 years Full-time Project: yes
This studentship is funded via a studentship from the China Scholarship Council. CSC is offering a monthly stipend to cover living expenses and QMUL is waving fees and hosting the student. These scholarships are available only for Chinese candidates.
Global Climate Change due to our rising CO2 emissions is the most important and difficult problem we face today. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the important interim mitigation methods for reducing our CO2 output from fossil fuel burning and the steel and cement industries. Here we focus on one part of CCS: the development of molecular thermodynamic models based on accurate interaction models. These models are needed to better understand the transport aspects of CCS.
The projects on offer are, at their core, focused on accurate intermolecular interaction models derived from first principles methods developed in the Misquitta group: we will develop methods that combine physical ideas with machine-learning to enable the rapid development of force-fields. Together with DrSlavchov – an expert in the field of molecular thermodynamics – we will extract the relevant thermodynamic information from these models, and in collaboration with members of the BP Institute(Cambridge) and Shell we will seek to substantially improve the modelling of corrosion in CCS processes.
The PhD students in these projects will need to have reasonably good theoretical and computational skills. They will be expected to develop Python code to automate calculations, and to bring large-data, machinelearning ideas into the research work.
The students will benefit from the training programme and conferences held in the PHYMOL network and also benefit from contact with the BP Institute in Cambridge, and Shell through a collaboration on CCS. For information on projects in the group of Dr Misquitta see the departmental web site and for information on additional projects see the PHYMOL site.
https://phymol.eu/index.php
Applications are invited from outstanding candidates of Chinese nationality holding or expecting to gain a degree in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, and Engineering with an interest in computational and materials research. An enquiring and rigorous approach to research, as well as good team-working and communication skills (both presentation and written English) is essential.
Contact Dr Misquitta (a.j.misquitta@qmul.ac.uk) by email, along with a full CV and the contact details of at least two referees.
To apply please use the following link:
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/subjects/physics.html
Deadline for application - 31st of January
There are several PhD projects open in the group of Dr Alston J. Misquitta in the theory and applications of intermolecular interactions and force fields. The project on thermodynamic models for CCS from machine-learned (ML) force-fields (FFs) of CO2 mixtures will be co-supervised by Dr Radomir Slavchov. Thestudent will be part of the School of Physics and Chemical Sciences and the London Centre for Theory and Simulation of Materials and Molecules, and will additionally be able to participate in the PHYMOL doctoral network: a €2.9M Marie Skłodowska–Curie Actions Doctoral Network on Intermolecular InteraQueen Mary University of London and the China Scholarship Council (CSC) have created a scholarship program to enable talented Chinese students to undertake a PhD at Queen Mary. The scholarships build on Queen Mary's existing relationship with China and links with Chinese research institutions and Universities. Queen Mary is also one of the UK’s leading research-focused higher education institutions, member of the elite Russell Group of UK universities, and ranked 9th in the UK in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework.
Training & Development: Students can expect to be trained to interact with researchers between scientific communities: from academia and industry. They will be trained in computer simulations, quantum chemistry, machine learning, and scientific programming. The deliverables of the projects are important to industry. As such, the PhD project will provide opportunities for training in a wide range of contemporary computational and material chemistry techniques and will equip the successful applicants with a highly desirable portfolio of scientific skills and associated transferable skills.
SPCS Academics: Dr Alston Misquitta