PhD scholarships at School of Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia

PhD scholarships at School of Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia

The Soft Microsystem Lab (https://www.phan-lab.com/) in collaboration with the UNSW Medical Robotic Lab at UNSW Sydney is looking for several talented PhD candidates to work on flexible electronics, robotics, and sensors for biomedical applications. In our labs, we explore the physical properties of advanced materials and develop novel microfabrication processes for a range of functional devices, with an emphasis on health care applications (e.g., surgical robotics, soft robotics, wireless sensors, wearable and implantable sensors, biodegradable sensors, haptic devices). Successful candidates will be equipped with key hand-on skills such as miro/nano lithography, laser machining, 3D-printing, and advanced mechatronic systems, which are supported by technical staff at the Australian National Fabrication Facility, UNSW to create scalable manufacturing processes that are suitable for commercialisation.

The successful candidates will be supervised by a team led by Dr. Hoang-Phuong Phan (primary supervisor) and Dr Thanh Nho Do (joint supervisor) to characterize their devices in in vitro and in vivo (i.e., cells, animal models) biological systems. Successful candidates will have full access to facility within the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering) and Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering including newly established Tyree IHealthE and Randwick Health Precinct (invested ~ $1B for research and commercialization). Candidates also have opportunities to collaborate with renowned institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, Northwestern University (Prof. John A. Rogers), NASA JPL, The University of Tokyo, NIMS (Japan). The Soft Microsystem Lab and the UNSW Medical Robotics labs have demonstrated successful stories on publishing in highly-impacted journals as well as attracting substantial media coverage on international news outlets and TV broadcasts.

Selection criteria:

–      Background in one of the following areas: electrical, mechanical, robotics, material engineering, and applied physics

–      GPA equivalent to High Distinction in Australia or among the top of their discipline

–      IELTS at least 6.5 (no band below 6), or equivalent TOEFL

Successful candidates will receive:

–        Full tuition fee waiver

–        Annual stipend of around 38,000 AUD for 4 years funded by our Australian Research Council Discovery Project

–        Conference travel allowance to attend international conferences and/or visit collaborators’ lab in the USA and Japan.

 

Please contact Dr. Phan at  hp.phan@unsw.edu.au for further discussion on research topics, scholarship schemes, and application procedures.