Applications are invited for a PhD studentship to start in October 2015. The project will be based in the Department of Materials at Loughborough University, supervised by Dr Jamieson Christie.

The project will be on the computer simulation of amorphous (glassy) materials for biomedical applications. The composition and structure of a given material strongly affect how useful it is for a specific medical application, and even small changes in the composition can lead to large differences in the material’s behaviour when it is implanted into the body. This project will continue our work in using classical and first-principles molecular dynamics to design improved materials for biomedical applications, by understanding the connections between the material’s composition, atomic structure and properties.

Our recent work has included bulk metallic glasses for orthopaedic applications [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 17, 12894 (2015)], phosphate glasses [J. Phys. Chem. B 117, 10652 (2013)] for dental applications [Biomaterials 35, 6164 (2014)], and yttrium-containing glasses for radiotherapy [J. Phys. Chem. B 116, 12614 (2012), J. Mater. Chem. 22, 12023 (2012)]. The student will develop and extend our successful work in one or more of these areas.

High-performance computing resources are available at Loughborough University, and the group also has a long history of successfully bidding for time on national supercomputing facilities. We collaborate widely with experimentalists in the field of glass structure to ensure that our simulations are as accurate as possible.

The studentship is for 3 years and is intended to start in October 2015. The studentship provides a tax-free stipend of £14,057 per annum for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK/EU rate. Please note that due to restrictions imposed by the funder, only students with a UK/EU fee status will be considered for this position.

Students will normally need to hold, or expect to gain, at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in an engineering or physical sciences subject. A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in computer simulation methods will be an advantage, but is not necessary; full training in these methods will be given.

General information about the Department of Materials can be found at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/materials/

For informal enquiries about the project, please email Dr Christie directly on [email protected], or phone on +44 (0)1509 223153.

To apply, please complete the online application using the following link: https://luis.lboro.ac.uk/web_apx/f?p=100:1

The closing date for applications is very soon: 8th July 2015.