Magnetic Metamaterials and Millimetre-Wave Devices – Industrial PhD in Physics (Fully-Funded Studentship) – UK Nationals/UK Dual-Nationals ONLY

About the Project

Join us in the University of Exeter’s Centre for Metamaterials Research & Innovation – the heart of the UK Metamaterials community.

You will be part of the £20 million EPSRC MetaHUB – the UK’s largest investment yet in the vibrant and strategically important field of Metamaterials research.

Explore a career and grow your experience of research and professional life in and around the Physical Sciences with this industrial PhD studentship in Physics – fully funded by the University of Exeter and Leonardo UK.

We’re looking for a student who has a passion for science, with ambition to learn and apply their own ideas, perspectives, and their personal skillset to the discovery, development, and commercial translation of new 3D nanoscale magnetic metamaterials.

What You’ll Do in this Project

Size, weight, and power: the future is small but mighty.

Working together with Leonardo UK towards immediate real-world applications in an operational environment, you’ll design and create intricate nanoscale geometries and combine common materials in new ways to build bespoke, miniaturised antennas using magnetic nanoparticle structures.

Your designs will make it possible to integrate digital technology platforms in previously unrealised ways and places, enhancing device communication and functionality in the defence and security domain.

The Studentship

Starting in October 2026.

This fully funded scholarship covers postgraduate tuition fees, a training budget, and an uplifted personal tax-free stipend of at least £22,805 per year for 4 years full-time study.

Based in the University of Exeter Department of Physics & Astronomy on our Streatham Campus overlooking the beautiful green City of Exeter, with views out over the rolling Devon hills and down the river to the sea.

About You

You must be a UK National/UK Dual-National to apply.

You must have obtained, or be about to obtain (graduated before August 2026), a First (1:1) or Upper Second-Class (2:1) UK Honours degree (e.g. BSc, MSc, MPhys, etc.), or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in a relevant area of Physical Science, Materials Science, or Engineering.

This is an experimental and computational project where you will use a variety of methodologies – from first principles of electromagnetic phenomena (Maxwell equations), magnetisation dynamics (Landau-Lifshits-Gilbert formalism) and finite difference time domain (FDTD) algorithms, with deep AI optimisation to produce hierarchal 3D lattice structures – so you should be able to demonstrate some computational capabilities. You should be prepared to learn lithographic fabrication, deposition techniques, optical and electron beam microscopy and other techniques used in a cleanroom environment. Training in all experimental, fabrication and computational techniques (including in AI & various programming languages) will be provided throughout the PhD.

MetaHUB is a multi-institution research collective, with projects shared across partner universities and companies, so you must be willing and able to work collaboratively, including with colleagues from the defence and security sector. You will be based in Exeter’s Centre for Metamaterials Research & Innovation and will work closely with our industrial partners, including principally, Leonardo UK.