PhD in Computational Modelling of Photonic Nano-materials and Devices
University College London in collaboration with Photon Design Oxford
Applications are invited for a fully-funded, three-year PhD studentship at the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at University College London (UCL), in Computational Nano-photonics. This is a rare opportunity to pursue a PhD with a strong industrial content in the exciting and growing field of photonics. Nano-photonics is expected to feature in future computer CPUs to carry data around large chips. Nano-photonics is also vital for improving the performance of the Internet. The student will work closely with the industrial partner to develop state-of-the-art algorithms for simulating and designing nano-photonic devices. This studentship will give you many valuable skills:
· A deep understanding of electromagnetics.
· Develop your mathematical and numerical skills.
· Learn to develop software to a professional level, working in an industrial environment.
· Communicating your ideas clearly in talks and publications.
It is expected that your work will lead to powerful software tools that will be used by photonics research groups around the world. The computational work will be supported by substantial access to UCL’s Legion, a 90 TeraFlops, 5680 cores high-performance computing platform.
The main aim of the project is research into advanced computational algorithms and techniques, such as finite-element and finite-difference methods, modal decomposition, and beam propagation methods, as well as their applications to computer modelling of photonic nano-materials and devices. In particular, the computer codes will be used to study a broad spectrum of optical effects at nanoscale, including ultra-fast pulse propagation in silicon-based photonic nano-wires (optical interconnects for Peta-scale supercomputing systems) and other basic components of chip-scale optical networks, solar cells and other photovoltaic devices, photonic band structures of non-linear plasmonic and photonic crystals, and effective properties of photonic metamaterials. Importantly, the world-class research activities on silicon photonics at UCL, as well as our ongoing collaboration with two groups at Columbia University (USA), will provide ample opportunities for code validation.
We are seeking a talented graduate with at least a 2.1 (or equivalent) degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Materials Science or a related field. The ideal candidate should be familiar with the electromagnetic theory and has strong mathematical skills, has programming experience, and affinity with computer modelling. Candidates should send a detailed CV including qualifications, experience and the names of two referees to be potentially contacted, to Dr. N. Panoiu (n.panoiu@ee.ucl.ac.uk), who will also be happy to answer any questions about the research project and studentship. Selected applicants will be instructed to apply formally through UCL’s Admissions.
The stipend for the studentship will be (a minimum of) £15,600, which is paid tax-free in line with usual eligibility rules. PhD studentship fees will also be covered at the UK/EU rate. Only those students who are considered to be UK or EU students therefore need apply. (For more details on student fees see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/fees-costs.)
University College London, located in central London, is one of the foremost research and teaching institutions in the world, and is part of the University of London. UCL has 19,000 students and 4,000 academic staff in 72 departments. It has the highest number of professors of any university in the UK. Academic staff or former students of UCL have won 19 Nobel Prizes.
The UCL Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (www.ee.ucl.ac.uk) is one of the leading research-led departments in its subject area, worldwide, and has received one of the top two ratings in every UK Research Assessment Exercise carried out to date. The Department continues to push in new directions in research and teaching, building on our strong long-established links with industry.
Closing date: 31st March 2012.
