PhD Studentship - 3D Thermal Metamaterials for Thermoelectrics & Heat Management, PhD in Physics (Fully-Funded)

University of Exeter - ESE

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

You’ll 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 fully funded PhD studentship in Physics.

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

If you want to play at the nexus of quantum, advanced materials, and thermodynamics, to design and create intricate nanoscale geometries that allow you to influence the flow of thermal energy, generating clean electricity from waste heat, building advanced batteries that bring us closer to realising a truly sustainable green energy network, then this studentship is for you.

The Studentship

Starting no later than October 2026.

This full‑time, 3.5‑year scholarship covers Home or International tuition fees, a training budget, and a personal tax‑free stipend of at least £20,780 per year.

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

About You

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.

You should be able to demonstrate some computational capabilities (e.g. evidencing a 2:1 or higher in relevant computational modules, or through examples of projects where you have applied your computational skills & knowledge). This is a theoretical and computational project where you will use a variety of methodologies to produce hierarchal 3D lattice structures, e.g. first principles calculations (density functional perturbation theory), molecular dynamics, finite difference, and deep AI optimisation. You will receive training in all of these and various programming languages throughout the PhD.

MetaHUB is a multi‑institution research collective, with projects shared across partner universities, so you must be willing and able to work collaboratively. You will be based in Exeter’s Centre for Metamaterials Research & Innovation whilst working closely with Cardiff University colleagues coordinating time‑critical outputs.

What You Will Get from this PhD Studentship:

• A fully funded PhD studentship at the forefront of Metamaterials research in the UK.
• A flexible, supportive and inclusive team environment at a research-intensive university, where your work is seen and has meaning.
• Personally tailored training opportunities and the chance to learn and utilise resources from a deep pool of connections in academia, industry, policy, and government, to develop your career alongside the fundamental science.
• A role where your contribution to metamaterials science can influence government policy and national investment and make a real-world impact on people’s lives and the environment.

APPLY & Find Out More:

To apply for this fully funded PhD Studentship or for more information and a detailed description of the research project, hit the 'APPLY' button above.

Application Deadline: This PhD studentship offer will remain open until filled.