Why you should consider the EngD route for your doctorate study…

The Industrial Doctorate Centre in Composites Manufacture (IDC) is pleased to announce that we are seeking high calibre candidates to take up one of five fully funded EngD studentships based at the National Composites Centre (NCC) – the UK’s leading mid-TRL innovation facility in composite materials.

To apply complete and submit this online form and send your CV and transcript of results to Helen.Howard@bristol.ac.uk

Why an EngD?

Patrick Sullivan, an EngD student currently based at the NCC, says

“ The ethos of an EngD is to work in industry as if you are a full time employee, fully embedded in your organisation’s system’s and structures, but to work towards your long term research and academic goal as your thesis approaches. The industry focus is beneficial for steering your research in a meaningful way, allowing greater impact and dissemination of your work. 

The appeal of an EngD is that you stay in the academic loop where innovation rules with the freedom to pursue research topics and work with world leading academics. But you are also driven by the focus of your industrial sponsor and their need to see the impact of the research on live projects. ”

As a successful applicant, you will be based at the National Composites Centre (NCC) and will work on novel, yet industrially focused, cutting-edge research, whilst following a taught programme at University of Bristol. The projects will cover a wide range of NCC’s strategic areas with a focus on using digital manufacturing with composite materials to solve urgent issues towards sustainability.

Financially it makes sense too.

Successful applicants will receive an enhanced tax-free stipend of £23,730 a year, a fee waiver and a generous allowance to support training.

 

Why the EngD works for industry.

The NCC has supported the Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) in Composites Manufacture for many years. Matt Scott, Chief Engineer for Capability at NCC, says

“ We find that our deep partnership with the IDC allows us to solve two pressing needs. Firstly, it gives us a mechanism to set motivated and tenacious minds on solving some of the research challenges that a commercial context by itself may not easily allow for. Secondly, it allows us to train the leaders of tomorrow towards an exciting and fulfilling career in the composites sector and beyond. ”

The topics you could be working on.

We are seeking highly motivated and committed individuals with an eye on the future, who are interested in conducting stimulating and essential industrial research and have a passion for finding sustainable solutions in areas such as:

  • Low-carbon concrete.
  • Through-Life Damage and Environmental Assessment.
  • Recycled Fibre/Matrix Interfacial Properties
  • Composite Shielding against Directed Energy Weapons
  • High-Rate Automated Deposition of CFRP for rapid production of aircraft wings.
  • Advanced Tooling for Aerospace Composites
  • Large Scale Rapid Infusion of wings.
  • In-Process Material Inspection and Verification of Aerospace Parts.
  • Digital Passport for Re-Using Aerospace Manufacturing Waste.

For more information about the topics you could be exploring visit our website here.

Professor Janice Barton, Director of the IDC, says;

“ If you are interested in studying for a doctorate at University of Bristol, being involved in the activities of Bristol Composites Institute and have a passion to explore sustainable composites solutions to address NetZero challenges then please consider applying to be part of our inclusive and dynamic programme in Composites Engineering. ”

What you need to bring.

Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum of a 2:1 MEng or merit at Masters level or equivalent in engineering, physics or chemistry. Applicants without a master’s qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree and performance at interview.

Due to visa restrictions these posts are available to Home/EU (UK settled status) with permanent UK residency.

To apply complete this online form and send your CV and transcript of results to Helen.Howard@bristol.ac.uk

If you have any further questions about our programme, or if you would like to have an informal chat with Professor Barton or a current EngD student, please do get in touch by e-mail.

Helen Howard, IDC Manager Helen.Howard@bristol.ac.uk

New start-up ‘Molydyn’ by Matthew Bone

 

An image of the Molydyn logo

BCI members have gone on to launch a number of start-up companies over the years, and the latest is MOLYDYN, which has been established by Matthew Bone from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Composites Science, Engineering and Manufacturing (CoSEM CDT).

Molydyn is working to drive materials discovery with a new accessible approach to computational chemistry. Simulating polymers at the molecular level can help guide lab work, eliminating screening and accelerating the development of new sustainable materials. This leads to time saving, allowing researchers to use their effort more efficiently to discover other innovative solutions.

We asked Matthew about his experience of setting up his own company and what advice he would give to others, “For me, the toughest and most enjoyable part is getting out there and talking to people about what you do. It’s difficult as you’re asking people to judge something that is so personal to you, but the overwhelming majority of people are so kind, give fantastic feedback and wish you nothing but the best. My advice to people is take whatever idea you have and start getting people’s opinion on it. If you’re willing to change it, you’ll end up with something so much better than you could have achieved on your own.”

Molydyn is relevant now more than ever as the world needs new materials to enable more sustainable applications like:

  • Hydrogen storage
  • Carbon capture
  • Green energy

It takes 10-20 years for a new material to come to market and long laboratory trials are a slow stage of the development cycle. As companies embrace Industry 4.0 they are realising that simulation can guide their scientists and save significant amounts of time, money, and physical waste.

The challenge is running these complex simulations and getting accurate data that means something to the people in the lab. Molydyn’s managed simulation platform can help companies screen new materials in days instead of weeks, for half the cost of a laboratory trial.

You can read more about Molydyn at www.molydyn.com