[England] PhD Scholarship in Optical Metrology - Loughborough University

PhD Scholarship
Depth-Resolved Phase-Contrast Optical Metrology In Life Sciences And Engineering
Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK.

Up to £12,600 per annum tax free plus tuition fees.

Ref: PDR290507

The closing date for applications is 30th June 2007.

Loughborough University has a world-leading reputation in the development and application of optical interferometric techniques for measuring strain fields on the surfaces of engineering components. This project aims to extend these techniques to allow the mapping of strain fields and mechanical properties inside the volume of weakly scattering materials, in a non-contact way and with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution.

Specific problems that will be addressed include:

Design, construction and validation of novel systems for Tilt Scanning Interferometry and Phase Contrast Spectral Optical Coherence Tomography.

Development of experimental procedures and data processing tools to extract displacement and strain information with optimised axial and depth resolution, depth range, and signal-to-noise ratio.

Medical applications:

Evaluation of elastic modulus distributions from displacement measurements through-the-thickness of the vertebrate eye cornea to numerically predict corneal behaviour after laser ablation in refractive surgery.

Engineering applications:

Measurement of 3-D displacement fields inside 3-D granular packs under known loads to evaluate contact forces and the resulting stress distribution within the pack.

The ideal candidate will hold, or be expecting, a 1st class or 2:1 honours degree in an engineering or physical science subject, preferably with proven experience in optics and interferometry. Strong numerical analysis skills, proven ability to undertake experimental projects and proficiency in MATLAB computer programming language are also required. Both EU and non-EU citizens are eligible to apply for this scholarship.

For informal enquiries please contact
Dr. Pablo D. Ruiz,
Loughborough University (P.D.Ruiz@lboro.ac.uk )

or

Prof. Jonathan M. Huntley,
Loughborough University (J.M.Huntley@lboro.ac.uk ).

An application form and further details are available from
Ms Jo Mason,
Research Administrator (J.R.Mason@lboro.ac.uk ).

Please quote the reference PDR290507 on your initial enquiry to Ms Mason and on the application form.