Masters scholarships

The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology is extremely proud to be New Zealand’s premier research organisation in materials science and nanotechnology. At times, Masters studentships are available in our research areas and partnership institutions.

Successful candidates will become members of the MacDiarmid Institute, and given exciting collaborative opportunities and a thriving environment within which to work.

Our alumni are working all over New Zealand and the world in many different fields and are having real impact. As a MacDiarmid Institute Masters student you will be encouraged and financially supported to take advantage of the many opportunities we provide to broaden your experience and skills.

Activities available for Masters scholarship students include:

• Annual multi-day workshops on specialist topics such as communication, commercialisation and leadership
• Intensive annual multi-day bootcamps (held in remote and beautiful locations) where experts share their knowledge in an important current research area
• Outreach events, working with school teachers or children
• Membership of the MacDiarmid Emerging Scientists Association (MESA), run by students and postdocs, which organises additional activities.

Each scholarship is worth NZD$25,000 per annum (not taxed) plus all domestic student fees.

When Master scholarships are available, more detailed information will be posted on this page. 

Externally funded Masters Scholarships

Green hydrogen: He Honoka Hauwai Masters Scholarships

Green hydrogen will become a pivotal vector to carry and store renewable energy in a future net-zero carbon New Zealand. These scholarships (please see the details below) are focussed on the development and modelling of green hydrogen storage materials - ranging from metal extraction from minerals, to production, characterisation and hydrogen uptake measurement by the resulting materials, theoretical modelling of the hydrogen uptake, and techno-economic analysis of the roles of hydrogen in New Zealand’s energy system.

Topics

Please see the three topic descriptions below. Applicants should indicate the area and primary supervisor they would prefer to work with in their application.

Eligibility

Candidates must be of Māori or Pasifika descent. They need to have a science degree equivalent to the 4-year BSc (Honours) degree, or a postgraduate Diploma in Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Physics or equivalent. Experience in the appropriate research field will be advantageous. Candidates should satisfy the requirements for admission as a research master's candidate at the University of Otago. 

Total value and tenure of the scholarship

The research master's scholarship will include domestic tuition fees as well as a stipend of $25,000 p.a. (tax-free) for one year. 

How to apply

To apply, please send your CV, academic record, and the names and contact details of two referees to: Professor Sally Brooker (sbrooker@chemistry.otago.ac.nz) with “Masters in hydrogen storage materials – subtopic of your choice” in the subject line.

MSc in modelling materials for hydrogen storage made from NZ resources

The use of hydrogen as a potential fuel source relies on safe and effective handling and storage. As hydrogen gas is lightweight and difficult to handle, incorporation of the gas into another material can enable facile transport and storage. Metal hydrides are one such form of hydrogen storage, in which hydrogen gas can be reversibly incorporated into the metal lattice. FeTi is one of the most promising materials for this application, which can be synthesized from ilmenite ore, which is abundant in New Zealand sands. However, the as-synthesised FeTi often contains a number of impurities, the presence of which may influence the hydrogen storage capabilities. This MSc project will use computational techniques based on density functional theory to investigate the effect of impurities on the hydrogenation of FeTi, with impurities specifically chosen to reflect the New Zealand ilmenite.

Requirements: A BSc honours degree or equivalent in chemistry, physics or engineering.
Primary supervisor: Associate Professor Anna Garden (Department of Chemistry)

MSc in designing and characterization of hydrogen storage materials from NZ resources

Green hydrogen will become a pivotal vector to carry and store renewable energy in a future net-zero carbon world. FeTi alloys demonstrate high hydrogen uptake at ambient conditions and are a safe and reliable candidate material for bulk hydrogen storage applications such as back-up power systems or micro grids. The mineral ilmenite contains both Fe and Ti and can be sourced in New Zealand, providing an attractive feedstock for preparing FeTi-based storage materials; however, impurities in the alloy can influence the hydrogen storage capabilities. This MSc project will use experimental techniques to prepare and characterise FeTi alloys to better understand the effect of the impurities present in ilmenite on the hydrogen storage capacity.

Requirements: A BSc Honours degree or equivalent in chemistry, physics or engineering.
Primary supervisor: Professor Nigel Lucas (Department of Chemistry)

MSc in designing resilient renewable hydrogen technologies for remote communities

Many remote communities, island nations and end of distribution line customers rely on diesel generators for their electricity supply. Rapidly falling costs for solar PV and battery storage in combination with recent advances in hydrogen electrolyzers, fuel cells and storage technologies have resulted in economically viable renewable alternatives to diesel generators. However, these systems are often not designed to be resilient to extreme weather events, which is particularly important for remote customers. This MSc project will use novel methods based on extreme value statistics to design renewable technology options for a range of remote customer use cases, focusing on resilience to extreme events.

Requirements: A BSc honours degree or equivalent in Engineering, Physics or Applied Mathematics. Programming experience an advantage.
Primary supervisor: Associate Professor Michael Jack (Department of Physics, Energy Management)

Funded Masters Project in Biopiezoelectricity

We use an enormous number of electronic devices and sensors in society today, and these devices are a considerable waste and recycling burden. Imagine, if we could use biological materials to harvest energy from mechanical motion to power electronic devices? This project fits into a larger, MBIE funded project where we explore the piezoelectric properties of biological materials as a basis for electronic devices. 

Eligibility

The perfect student will enjoy problem solving and practical engineering solutions, as well as material science and measurements. Applicants should also satisfy the requirements for admission as a Masters student candidate at the University of Auckland.

Total value and tenure of scholarship

The scholarship is worth $ per annum and includes all student fees for one year.

How to apply

To apply or find out more information, please email to Associate Professor Jenny Malmström, j.malmstrom@auckland.ac.nz, with "Funded Masters Project in Biopiezoelectricity” in the subject line.

Funded Masters to Develop New Insulating Materials 

GNS Science are seeking up to 5 Masters students to work on a research programme to develop new insulating materials for home appliances with potential for other applications. These projects are part of a larger research programme run within GNS Science and students will be working closely with a team including a postdoc and professional researchers. The topics are:

• Steel metal matrix composites by additive manufacturing
• 3D vacuum multilayer insulation
• Low thermal conductivity materials for aerogel frameworks
• Low thermal conductivity infrared opaque materials
• Functionally graded silica aerogel

Eligibility

Candidates should satisfy the requirements for admission as a master’s candidate at the relevant NZ University.

Total value and tenure of scholarship

This work will be funded by a key player in the New Zealand manufacturing sector and each project will receive a $25,000 stipend for the student, student fees and a stipend up to $10,000 to cover research costs. 

How to apply

To apply, please send your CV, academic record, and the names and contact details of two referees to: Murray McCurdy, m.mccurdy@gns.cri.nz or John Kennedy, j.kennedy@gns.cri.nz, with “Funded Masters to Develop New Insulating Materials” in the subject line.