PhD Studentship: Predictive Modelling and Control of Low-cost Droplets for Micro-engineering

Overview

The School of Mathematics at the University of Birmingham is offering a PhD studentship on predictive modelling and control of low-cost droplets for micro-engineering. Micro-swimmers are microscopic entities that move through fluids by converting electrical, magnetic, acoustic or chemical energy into motion. They are being explored for chemical analysis in medical diagnostics, targeted drug delivery, cell sorting and environmental sensing.

The project focuses on chemically active drops, which swim using chemical energy from an ambient fuel and can be produced in large numbers by inexpensive microfluidic techniques. Although the mechanism of their motion is well understood, steering them is difficult, and a systematic first-principles analysis of how imposed flows, chemical gradients or electric fields affect their motion is still lacking. The student will build computational models that predict how active drops respond to common laboratory stimuli, and will identify ways to improve their manoeuvrability, for example finding the guiding stimuli that would lead a drop along a desired trajectory for reagent transport. The expected outcome is a predictive framework that suggests the best spatio-temporal landscapes of chemical, flow or electric fields to steer a drop along a specified path at a specified rate.

Requirements

The department is looking for curious, enthusiastic and hard-working candidates with an understanding of fluid mechanics concepts and of analytical and numerical methods for partial differential equations, together with excellent oral and written communication skills. Prior experience in computational fluid dynamics or active matter is a big advantage, but above all candidates should be willing to engage rigorously with challenging ideas.

What you get

The scholarship covers tuition fees, training support and a stipend at standard rates for 3 to 3.5 years. The student works closely with the supervisor and has opportunities to present research at conferences and to broaden their scientific knowledge and career prospects.

How to apply

Candidates are encouraged to make an informal enquiry with Dr Nikhil Desai before applying.

Key dates

The closing date is 25 December 2026.