Supervisor: Dr Fatma Benkhelifa - f.benkhelifa@qmul.ac.uk
Application deadline: 1st July 2024
Stipend: £21,237 per annum
Indoor remote wireless sensing provides a paradigm shift in monitoring and managing nuclear assets more efficiently and effectively offering the possibility to collect real-time information with minimal hu-man interventions in hazardous environments. However, the use of batteries in indoor nuclear environ-ments can cause fire hazards and may require frequent battery replacement. This project will examine the use of energy harvesting to extend the operational lifetime of the sensors. Yet, radio frequency (RF) signals are put-upon to simultaneously harvest energy and transmit data for LoRa through-wall indoor nuclear (LoRa- TWIN) monitoring wireless sensor network. LoRa-TWIN includes an outdoor super LoRa node/gateway attached to the external wall of the indoor environment, and indoor LoRa nodes monitor-ing temperature, humidity, radiation, etc.
The project will design an RF energy harvesting circuit considering the system requirements of decom-missioning environments and optimize both the wireless through-wall power transfer and wireless through-wall information transfer by developing efficient and robust algorithms via machine learning techniques. Computer-based simulator and laboratory experiments will be exploited to assess the pro-posed algorithms and provide insightful guidelines for on-site implementation. The project outcomes will lead to research excellence in wireless powered remote monitoring without intrusive access and significant impact on monitoring procedures in decommissioning activities.
For more information about the project, please contact Fatma Benkhelifa - f.benkhelifa@qmul.ac.uk
Studentship
The PhD student will be supported by an industrial funded PhD bursary by Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA). The student will receive supervision from QMUL as well as from National Nuclear Labor-atory (Dr Antonio Di Bueno, (NNL Technical Lead – Nuclear Instruments in the Instrumentation and In-situ Analysis Team). The student will have the opportunity to receive secondments at NNL as well as the industrial collaborators (NNL, Nuclear Restoration Services, Sellafield Ltd, Nuclear Waste Services).
The student will receive tuition fees and a London stipend at UKRI rates (a tax-free stipend of £21,237 per annum for the duration of the studentship) annually during the PhD period, which can span for 3.5 years.
How to apply
Queen Mary is interested in developing the next generation of outstanding researchers and decided to invest in specific research areas. Applicants should work with their prospective supervisor and submit their application following the School's application instructions.
The application should include the following:
· CV (max 2 pages)
· Cover letter (max 4,500 characters) stating clearly in the first page whether you are eligible for a scholarship as a UK resident (https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/guidance-on-epsrc-stu-dentships/eligibility)
· Research proposal (max 500 words)
· 2 References
· Certificate of English Language (for students whose first language is not English)
· Other Certificates
Please note that to qualify as a home student for the purpose of the scholarships, a student must have no restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship. For more information please see the EPSRC guidance.
Application Deadline
The deadline for applications is the 1st July 2024.
For general enquiries contact Mrs Melissa Yeo at m.yeo@qmul.ac.uk (administrative enquiries) or Dr Ar-kaitz Zubiaga at a.zubiaga@qmul.ac.uk (academic enquiries) with the subject “EECS 2024 PhD scholarships enquiry”. For specific enquiries contact Dr Fatma Benkhelifa at f.benkhelifa@qmul.ac.uk