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Colleges

PhD topics for research students

Find below a list of currently available self-funded PhD topics.

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Check out fees and funding

We encourage all students to contact the supervisor or the alternative contact person for more information and an informal chat to discuss the process of applying and preparing your research statement. For more information on how to apply click here.

Description
Supervisor
Funding
Next generation electric vehicles
Electric vehicles (EV’s) offer benefits through energy security, energy efficiency, low emissions and precision in their control, hence the great interest in this technology from industry, academia, g...
Self Funded
Low-carbon cementitious composites from brick waste powder
The objective of this PhD is to develop high performing low-carbon engineering products that utilise brick waste from the demolition of buildings in two forms: 1) brick powder to be used as binder in ...
Self Funded
Circular design tools for the metal sector
The PhD project will be linked to the UKRI Circular Metal Research Centre. In particular it will support the design stream of the programme. The PhD researcher will work within an interdisciplinary te...
Self Funded
Next generation aeroacoustically and aerodynamically efficient aerofoil
Applications are sought for a self-funded PhD student to undertake a 36-month research into fan broadband noise reduction at Brunel University London. This project represents an exciting opportunity t...
Self Funded
Understanding the mechanisms of metabolic reprogramming in cancer: towards novel therapies
As you read this, millions of the cells in your body are dying. Do not panic – this is not bad news. Most of them are either superfluous or potentially harmful, so you are better off without them. In ...
Self Funded
Metasurfaces for smart environments
Metasurfaces consist of a planar array of subwavelength-spaced and electrically small particles, whose EM properties can be locally controlled to tailor the overall reflected/transmitted field. Metasu...
Nila Nilavalan
Self Funded
Can AI based robot car win the race
A modern Formula 1 race is a breathtaking display of engineering precision. Yet the popularity of the sport arguably has less to do with the performance of the cars than with the skill and daring disp...
Self Funded
Effects of environmental heat stress on respiratory health
Climate change dictates that global average environmental temperatures are going to increase in the 21st century and heatwaves are going to become more frequent, intense and long-lasting. Respiratory ...
Self Funded
Toward automated vehicle control beyond the stability limits via active drifting control
Professional drivers in drifting competitions demonstrate accurate control over a car's position and sideslip while operating in an open-loop unstable region of state space. Could similar approaches h...
Self Funded
The sustainability of hydrogen production for future energy uses
Hydrogen is being promoted as a potentially low-carbon fuel for use in both transport and electricity generation. There are many routes and processes by which hydrogen can be produced, but are any of ...
Colin Axon
Peter Hewitson
Self Funded