PhD Studentship: Designing Safe & Secure Control Architectures for Resilient Aerospace Control Systems

This PhD offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of formal methods, control engineering, and cybersecurity within the high-stakes environment of aerospace propulsion. You will be a part of Rolls-Royce sponsored research centre developing advanced control systems to enhance the performance and efficiency of new aerospace propulsion systems. We apply a systems thinking mindset with robust mathematical frameworks to solve real world problems with our industrial collaborators at Rolls-Royce.

The Challenge

• Modern aerospace systems are undergoing a digital revolution. Future aircraft engines will no longer rely solely on centralised on-board computers; but will leverage distributed, multi-layered control architectures and off-board computational power to optimise performance in real-time.
• However, this increased connectivity introduces a critical paradox: how do we harness "limitless" off-board power while maintaining the absolute safety and security required for flight? As cyber-attacks become more sophisticated, we need a new generation of resilient control architectures that can survive both physical faults and malicious digital intrusions.

Research Aim

• This PhD project, sponsored by Rolls-Royce, aims to develop a methodology for designing distributed control architectures that are "secure by design." You will move beyond traditional "patch-and-fix" security, instead using Contract-Based Design (CBD) to formalise safety and security guarantees at every level of the system hierarchy.

Key Research Questions

• Design Trade-offs: How do we balance and improve the trade-offs between high-performance (connected) and high-security (isolated) configurations?
• Resilience Limits: What severity of cyber-attack or hardware fault can a system tolerate before safety is compromised?
• Dynamic Resilience: Can we provide control-theoretic guarantees on system properties if the system adapts in real-time to evade attacks?

What You Will Do

• Model Complex Architectures: Use formal temporal logic to define "Assume-Guarantee" contracts for gas turbine engine control systems.
• Attack Modelling: Define and simulate sophisticated attack vectors on state estimation, and actuation loops.
• Controller Synthesis: Design layered control architectures with sentry and reversionary functions that provably allow the system to "degrade gracefully".
• Experimental Validation: Demonstrate your methodology on a networked embedded system, proving that your theoretical guarantees hold in Rolls-Royce designed hardware implementations.

Why Apply?

• Industrial Impact: Your research directly informs the design of future Rolls-Royce propulsion systems.
• Cutting-Edge Tools: Gain expertise in Contract-Based Design, formal verification, and modern advanced control—skills in high demand across industry.
• Professional Development: You will be part of a vibrant research community and benefit from regular visits and interaction with world-leading Academics and Rolls-Royce.

Eligibility

You will be a highly motivated graduate with a first-class or 2:1 Undergraduate degree and/or MSc degree with Distinction in a relevant science or engineering subject.

Ideal candidates will have:

• A strong foundation in Control Theory and/or Systems Engineering and toolsets.
• Interest (or experience) in Formal Methods and Cyber-Physical Systems.
• The ability to communicate complex technical ideas to both academic and industrial audiences.

Fully funded 3.5 year studentship covering Home tuition fees only, enhanced stipend covering the basic UKRI rate plus an additional £4,000, totalling £24.8k plus inflation per annum. Additionally, a research and training support grant of £1,000 per annum covers conference attendance.

Applications are welcome from exceptional overseas candidates but the difference between the home and overseas fees will need to be funded by the student. Details about how this will be funded should be included in the application.

Closing Date: 31st May 2026