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  4. PhD Studentship in Liquid Metal Antennas

PhD Studentship in Liquid Metal Antennas

Application closing date: 27/05/2019
Start date: October 2019-January 2020  (dates can be flexible)
Research group: Antennas & Electromagnetics
Duration: 3 years
Funding: Available

Research into reconfigurable antennas/circuits has been ongoing for several decades. Reconfigurable antennas are valuable as a means of enabling systems to adapt to changing circumstances. The traditional approach for reconfiguring antennas involves using switches or varactors. The technology, in this area, is very mature. However, these traditional approaches suffer from several important limitations, including: 1) complexity of biasing and control circuits, 2) significant overall power consumption, 3) poor harmonic performance (i.e. they create unwanted signals), and 4) limited tuning range. Recently liquid metals, based on Gallium alloys, have been developed which have the potential to address many of the limitations associated with traditional approaches.

The PhD will build on existing expertise in the QMUL Antennas & Electromagnetics Group (https://antennas.eecs.qmul.ac.uk) and develop the capability to manufacture complex microfluidic structures as well as innovative new forms of reconfigurable antenna which take advantage of the new opportunities afforded by liquid metal. The project will benefit from a recent £1.2m EPSRC investment in the groups comprehensive Antenna Measurement Laboratory through the acquisition of a Nanoscribe 3D printer and NSI spherical near-field millimetre wave antenna measurement system.

Qualifications:
All applicants should hold a masters degree at first /distinction level in Electronic Engineering (or a related discipline). Applicants should have a good knowledge of English and ability to express themselves clearly in both written and spoken form.

The successful candidate must be strongly motivated to undertake doctoral studies, must have demonstrated the ability to work independently and to perform critical analysis. Furthermore, a degree of grit and resilience are important in order to withstand the challenges of PhD study. The following items are considered essential:

  • Excellent knowledge of microwave engineering
  • Practical experience of building electronic circuits/systems

A working knowledge of chemistry and/or materials science would be a distinct advantage

All nationalities are eligible to apply for this studentship. We offer a 3-years fully funded PhD studentship, with a bursary ~£16.5K/year and a fee waiver (including non-EU students), supported by the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science of the Queen Mary University of London, UK (www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk). The first supervisor is Dr. James Kelly.  In addition to the studentship, we also welcome applications from self-funded students with relevant backgrounds.

To apply, The following website provides guidance for applicants: http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/phd/how-to-apply/. Steps 2 onwards are applicable in this case.

Please note that instead of the ‘Research Proposal’ we request a ‘Statement of Research Interests’. Your statement (no more than 500 words) should answer two questions:

(i) Why are you interested in the topic described above?

(ii) What relevant experience do you have? In order to submit your online application you will need to visit the following webpage: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/subjects/electronic-engineering.html.

Please scroll down the page and click on:

“PhD Full-time Electronic Engineering - Semester 1 (October Start)”

or

“PhD Full-time Electronic Engineering - Semester 2 (January Start)”.

The successful PhD candidate is expected to be a member of Whitespace Machine Communication Lab (WMC: http://wmc.eecs.qmul.ac.uk). The WMC lab is part of the Antennas & Electromagnetics Group which is located in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at QMUL. You should mention this in your application.

Applicants seeking further information or feedback on their suitability are encouraged to contact Dr. James Kelly at j.kelly@qmul.ac.uk with subject “Liquid Metal PhD”. However, please, do not email your application. All applications must be made via the website mentioned above.

The closing date for the applications is May 27th, 2019.
Interviews are expected to take place in early June 2019.
Starting date: October 2019-January 2020 (dates can be flexible).