Studentships (directory/vacancies)

A fully funded 3.5 year Ph.D. studentship is available to UK nationals and outstanding international students, with Professors Lynn Gladden, Mick Mantle and Andy Sederman, to start 1 October 2026.

The transition to net zero is driving a new phase in the development of innovative catalysts and processes because the reactants required for these "net zero" processes come from new sources, and the products of the reaction are required with increasingly high specifications. This project addresses Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) which is considered, if adopted in an environmentally responsible way, to have the potential to cut the greenhouse gas emissions of the aviation sector by up to 80% compared with traditional jet fuels (World Economic Forum) and can also be used as an energy vector where high energy density is required.

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalysis is one of the primary catalytic conversions used to produce SAF, using green hydrogen and biogenic or captured carbon dioxide. Magnetic resonance techniques are now sufficiently advanced that they can provide unique insights in to how a catalyst operates under reaction conditions. Whilst FT processes have existed for many years, the new feedstocks used in SAF as well as the new product specifications required mean that there is real need to re-design the catalysts and processes conditions to deliver carbon-neutral fuels and contribute to delivering net zero.

Our approach is to use new magnetic resonance methods developed in the group which allow us to understand how molecules move in and out of the catalyst, and how the reaction occurs inside the catalyst under reaction conditions, much like the way magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to study blood flow and the internal structure and behaviour of the human body. For applicants interested in learning and developing new skills in magnetic resonance imaging techniques applied to catalysis, there is much scope for building this interest into the project.

Applicants for the studentships should have a First Class (or a high 2:1) or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline such as chemical engineering, engineering, chemistry or physics.

To apply for this studentship:

1.) You must have a high 2.i or a 1st in your undergraduate degree and any subsequent study; please see the University's requirements if your degree(s) was completed outside the UK: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/international-qualifications

2.) If you are able to meet the above requirement, you would need to submit a formal application for our PhD in Chemical Engineering, noting Vacancy Reference NQ48871 in the research proposal of your application. Full information about our PhD, as well as a link to the on-line application, is: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng

Please quote reference NQ48871 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A fully funded 3.5 year Ph.D. studentship is available to UK nationals and outstanding international students, with Professors Lynn Gladden, Mick Mantle and Andy Sederman, to start 1 October 2026.

Porous materials are central to the production of clean energy, sustainable aviation fuels, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, clean water and gas storage. Depending on the product required, the porous materials are known as catalysts, sorbents, membranes etc., but they all have common characteristics in that their performance is determined, to differing extents, by their chemical composition and the size (typically of nanometre to micron dimensions) of the pores that they contain and the way those pores interconnect.

Surprisingly, we still know relatively little about how molecules behave when confined within the pores of these materials, and yet it is clear that the chemical composition of the materials as well as their pore size have very significant effects on their performance. The group has developed a wide range of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods to understand how molecular adsorption and mobility, and the phase behaviour of mixtures of molecular species changes when moving from the bulk phase to the confined 'world' of a nanometre to micron scale pore. Importantly the magnetic resonance methods can be performed at the operating conditions at which the porous materials will be used so that we learn how the materials are really 'working'.

The group has active interests in catalytic processes (sustainable methanol production/ sustainable aviation fuel), adsorbents (direct air capture) and organic membranes (clean energy production). The successful candidate may wish to focus in a specific area or extend their studies across multiple materials and applications.

Applicants for the studentships should have a First Class (or a high 2:1) or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline such as chemical engineering, engineering, chemistry or physics.

To apply for this studentship:

1.) You must have a high 2.i or a 1st in your undergraduate degree and any subsequent study; please see the University's requirements if your degree(s) was completed outside the UK: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/international-qualifications

2.) If you are able to meet the above requirement, you would need to submit a formal application for our PhD in Chemical Engineering, noting Vacancy Reference NQ48882 in the research proposal of your application. Full information about our PhD, as well as a link to the on-line application, is: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng

Please quote reference NQ48882 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Funding: Fully funded (stipend + Home fees), UK nationals and those with Settled Status only.

Supervisors: Professor Mick Mantle, Professor Lynn Gladden & Professor Andy Sederman

Project overview

Continuous manufacturing is reshaping pharmaceutical and agrochemical production, yet for many catalytic hydrogenations we still have limited insight into what is happening inside the reactor. This PhD, sponsored by Syngenta, will address that gap by developing and applying advanced NMR/MRI methods to look inside working micro trickle-bed reactors (TBRs) and convert those measurements into validated numerical and kinetic models.

Rather than relying solely on traditional exit-stream analytical methods (GC/MS/HPLC), you will build an integrated experimental/computational framework that captures what is happening within the packed bed, down to the catalyst pellet scale. The goal is to quantify and link the interplay between mass transport, adsorption, reaction, selectivity, and deactivation, enabling predictive scale-up and the development of digital surrogate models for process design and control. You will work at the interface where magnetic resonance meets reaction engineering. The Magnetic Resonance Research Group in Cambridge has a proven track record of using NMR/MRI to map spatial variations in reactant/product composition and transport within operating reactors, and to exploit relaxation and diffusion methods (e.g., spatially resolved T1-T2 and D-T2) to probe surface interactions, competitive adsorption, and changes associated with catalyst deactivation. In addition, there will be opportunities to work with Syngenta's data scientists and numerical modellers to develop a numerical surrogate that can predict conversion/selectivity and how performance changes with catalyst choice and scale.

Depending on your background and interests, you will gain experience in:

-- NMR/MRI experiment design for reactive, multiphase packed beds

-- MRI image reconstruction, data processing, and relaxation/diffusion analysis

-- Reaction engineering: multiphase flow in packed beds, heat and mass transfer, residence time distributions

-- Kinetic modelling (mechanistic and/or parameter estimation)

-- Numerical simulation (e.g., continuum modelling; potentially CFD or pore-/pellet-scale approaches)

-- Building a "digital twin" style surrogate model for continuous process optimisation and control

Candidate profile

We are looking for a curious, hands-on scientist/engineer who is excited by interdisciplinary research. Applicants are likely to have a background in:

-- Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, or a related field

Impact

This PhD will create a step-change in how we characterise and predict the performance of continuous catalytic hydrogenations. It will deliver methods and models directly relevant to sustainable, high-quality pharmaceutical and agrochemical manufacturing, and will train a researcher fluent in both advanced magnetic resonance techniques and reactor-scale modelling.

To apply for this studentship:

1.) You must be a UK national or have Settled Status.

2.) You must have a high 2.i or a 1st in your undergraduate degree and any subsequent study; please see the University's requirements if your degree(s) was completed outside the UK: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/international-qualifications

3.) If you are able to meet the above criteria, you would need to submit a formal application for our PhD in Chemical Engineering, noting Vacancy Reference NQ48848 in the research proposal of your application. Full information about our PhD, as well as a link to the on-line application, is: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng

Please quote reference NQ48848 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A fully funded 3.5 year Ph.D. studentship is available to UK nationals and outstanding international students, with Professors Lynn Gladden, Mick Mantle and Andy Sederman, to start 1 October 2026.

Underground storage of carbon dioxide and hydrogen will play an important role in the energy transition and the delivery of net zero because the storage can be done at scale. However, the demands of underground carbon dioxide (UCS) and underground hydrogen storage (UHS) are very different. In the case of UCS, we need to store large quantities of carbon dioxide for the long term, whilst UHS requires the temporary storage of hydrogen through the seasons such that it can be recovered for use as an energy vector when needed. UCS is, of course, much more widely studied than UHS.

The aim of this project is to understand the micro-scale physical and chemical processes occurring in rocks when carbon dioxide and hydrogen are injected into them. A particular challenge is that a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir, where gas storage would take place, is very different from a pure synthetically made porous material. In addition to chemical and structural differences of different rock types, the pores into which the carbon dioxide or hydrogen is injected contain varying levels of sea-water and residual hydrocarbon. This is a very complex system, and magnetic resonance methods are unique in being able to study these processes occurring in an optically opaque system (i.e. rock).

The project will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), just as you would in a medical application, to see inside the rock and investigate how carbon dioxide and hydrogen move and become immobile within the rock. How do they interact with the internal surface of the rock? Do emulsions form within the rock? Do any chemical interactions occur? How are these characteristics changed by the rate at which the gas is injected? How does the brine, gas, residual hydrocarbon system evolve over time? The images we will acquire will provide unique datasets against which to validate numerical codes developed by our collaborators. The ambition is to be able to optimise selection of storage sites and the methods of injection such that carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases can be stored and accessed safely and effectively.

Applicants for the studentships should have a First Class (or a high 2:1) or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline such as chemical engineering, engineering, chemistry or physics.

To apply for this studentship:

1.) You must have a high 2.i or a 1st in your undergraduate degree and any subsequent study; please see the University's requirements if your degree(s) was completed outside the UK: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/international-qualifications

2.) If you are able to meet the above requirement, you would need to submit a formal application for our PhD in Chemical Engineering, noting Vacancy Reference NQ48883 in the research proposal of your application. Full information about our PhD, as well as a link to the on-line application, is: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng

Please quote reference NQ48883 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.