Opportunities
Graduate research opportunities
PhD scholarship in Fe-Based Superconductors and Related Compounds.
The successful candidate will part of the internationally renowned superconductivity research team based at Industrial Research. The student will be primarily supervised by Dr. Grant Williams who is also a Principal Investigator in the MacDiarmid Institute. The research programme will include material preparation by solid state synthesis and single crystals and thin films will be provided by our collaborators. The samples will be studied by techniques that include XRD, SEM, magneto-resistance, magneto-thermopower, Hall effect, magnetization, heat capacity, Raman, and FTIR measurements.
PhD studentship in Theoretical condensed matter physics.
Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship on quantum transport in nanoscale systems. Possible research topics include: transport in hybrid quantum-dot systems with superconducting, ferromagnetic and normal leads; time-dependent charge and spin transport in nanoscale devices.
PhD position in NMR, soft matter and porous materials.
The MacDiarmid Institute is offering a PhD position, available from October 2010. The research to be undertaken concerns addressing fundamental questions related to soft matter and porous media as well as the development of the necessary NMR methodology.
PhD studentship Detecting Nanoparticles Using Resizable Nanopores.
A PhD studentship is available for studying resizable nanopores, an exciting new technology consisting of individual nanoscale holes in thin elastomeric membranes. Nanoparticle sensing applications are of growing importance in medical and life sciences, environmental monitoring and security. Nanopores are becoming an important general tool in nanotechnology research. Topics of particular interest include interactions between dispersed particles and the elastomer, competing nanoparticle transport mechanisms, and detection of novel, interesting nanoparticle types.
PhD scholarship in the Formation of Magnetic Silicon Nanostructures
The PhD research programme is focussed on the novel growth of silicon and SiC nanostructures for spintronic applications. Preliminary research indicates that iron can be successfully integrated into the nanostructures. The team centred at GNS Science has developed the technology to manufacture prototypes of Si nanostructures with electron beam annealing. Ion implanters are available in-house to insert magnetic ions into the nanostructures. The formation process and the magnetic ion distributions will be studied at GNS Science with AFM and RBS. Additional surface analysis methods are available in the MacDiarmid Institute.
PhD scholarship in Nanostructured Materials for Fundamental and Applied Catalytic Studies
Unique chemical reactivity of nanostructured catalysts will be explored with focus on revealing structure-property relationships. The project is part of the MacDiarmid Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology and will involve links with other groups in New Zealand. Scholarship funds (stipend + fees) are available from early 2010 for 3 years.
PhD scholarship in The Modification of Surfaces Using Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology
The PhD research programme is concerned with the modification of the surfaces of common substrates and fibres notably plastics, paper and wool, by incorporating and chemically binding selected nanomaterials on the respective surfaces to impart interesting and useful light scattering, photoluminescent, anti-microbial and chemical properties.
PhD scholarship in effects of oxidative stress on model cellular membranes
A Marsden-funded PhD Scholarship is available for the beginning of 2010 at the Department of Chemistry, University of Auckland, New Zealand, working with Dr Duncan McGillivray The research would involve looking at the structural and dynamic changes in phospholipid bilayers using neutron reflectometry and other surface-related techniques, with an aim to understanding how changes are linked to aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer's.
PhD scholarship in Switchable and functional conducting polymers for biomedical applications
A PhD scholarship is available to develop novel functional surfaces that incorporate conducting polymers as electro active materials grafted with side-chain polymers and block copolymers for additional functionality. The applications for such materials are very wide spread, such as switchable surfaces, biocompatible and electrically active surfaces for bio-manipulation, bio-detection and novel nanostructured electronics.
PhD scholarship in ultrafast spectroscopy of conjugated polymers
This project will employ state-of-the-art ultrafast laser spectroscopy to investigate mechanisms of photocurrent generation in conjugated polymer solar cells. In particular, we will use laser pulses to probe the nature of excited states and photogenerated charge pairs in an effort to design materials with a greater capacity to generate photocurrent.
The successful applicant will be part of a team that builds new experimental capabilities, thus competence in optics, electronics
PhD: Medical applications of magnetic particles
PhD research studentship investigating magnetic nanoparticles of iron and iron carbide as new and more effective MRI contrast agents for the treatment of diseases including cancer.
Research will involve a variety of techniques including:
- Colloidal synthetic chemistry.
- Nanoparticle characterization on our new transmission electron microscope (TEM).
- Magnetic characterization of the nanoparticles.
Due to the multi-discipline nature of the research previous experience in theses fields are not essential. By the end of the PhD the student will be fully proficient in all of these fields.
