PhD-studentship in Applied Mathematics / Quantitative Ecology: Wind Assisted Dispersal of Insect Tree Pests: An Interdisciplinary Modelling and Ecological Study

About the Project

Award summary

100% home fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £21,805 (2026/27 UKRI rate), plus a RTSG to cover additional research costs/travel.

Overview

This interdisciplinary PhD project will bring together mathematics and ecology to assess the risk of invasive tree pests being transported into Great Britain by wind. While biosecurity measures largely focus on trade‑related pathways, long‑distance wind‑borne dispersal may also represent a significant introduction route for insects. This project aims to develop and apply quantitative methods to assess wind-borne dispersal risk for a range of pests of concern to GB forestry, building on recent work on dispersal of the European spruce bark beetle.

The studentship will investigate:

• Which tree pests on the Pest Health Risk Register may be aerodynamically capable of long‑distance semi-passive wind-assisted dispersal.
• How constraints on flight duration and temperature thresholds for flight initiation influence the potential source range of representative aerodynamically capable pests.
• Whether insect tree pests of concern to the UK can be classified by likely flight dynamics, and how these classes correspond to taxonomic and ecological groupings.
• The development and exploration of models that integrate biological understanding with atmospheric dispersion models to predict spatio-temporal spread of wind-dispersed invasive pests.

The student will gain interdisciplinary skills in mathematical ecology, entomology, aerodynamics, atmospheric modelling, and epidemiology. The project may include opportunities for laboratory‑based work to support model development and validation. The ideal candidate will have a strong quantitative background and an interest in coding and applying modelling approaches to real-world biosecurity challenges.

Number of awards

1

Start date

21st September 2026

Award duration

3.5 years

Application closing date

20th May 2026

Sponsor

This studentship is hosted by the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics at Newcastle University, in collaboration with Forest Research and sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

Name of supervisor/s

Dr Laura Wadkin, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University
Dr Cerian Webb, Forest Research
Dr Max Blake, Forest Research

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (e.g., mathematics/statistics, engineering, quantitative ecology/biology). A Masters qualification in a relevant subject area will be advantageous.

This studentship is only available to applicants with a Home fee status (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria).

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal. Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’. Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using programme code: 8080F
• Research Area: Applied Mathematics
• Select ‘PhD Mathematics’ as the programme of study.

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:

• A Personal Statement: one side of A4.
• The studentship code in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field: MSP124

In the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section please upload:

• Your academic transcript.
• Your CV.

You must submit one application per studentship, you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application.

Contact Details

Dr Laura Wadkin: laura.wadkin@newcastle.ac.uk