A fully-funded four-year PhD position on Multiscale Modelling of the Effect of Defects on the Mechanical Properties of Diamond is available to UK/EU applicants to work with Dr James Kermode in the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick.

A single defect can be enough to deflect a crack as it travels through a crystal according to recent quantum mechanical simulations (Kermode et al. Nature Comms, 2013), leading to microscopic ridges on the surfaces of the broken material. This PhD project will extend the modelling approach to study the effect of defects in diamond on its mechanical properties. The project will involve combining existing classical interatomic potential models for diamond with a density functional theory model for defect sites using the “Learn on the Fly” multiscale modelling approach (see e.g. Kermode et al., Nature 2008).

The four year PhD position is funded through the Diamond Science and Technology CDT. The successful candidate will be required to undertake the MSc taught component at Warwick and then two associated mini-projects at partner universities Imperial College London and Newcastle. The student will benefit from being part of a supportive network, and from being taught by experts from eight different universities which they can tap into in future years.

See more details on the Diamond Science and Technology PhD projects website or contact James Kermode for informal enquiries and to arrange an interview.