PhD: Inflatable & Multistable Metamaterials Design

University of Oxford; Oxford; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fees covered for Home students

Tax-free stipend

Job summary

University of Oxford invites applications for a 3.5-year DPhil studentship in Engineering, focused on the design, modelling and experimental investigation of inflatable and multistable mechanical metamaterials. Based in the RADlab within the Department of Engineering Science, the project combines hands-on fabrication with advanced simulations to explore deployable, reconfigurable structures.

The successful candidate will work on fabrication, testing and analysis, developing computational models

Qualifications

• Degree requirement: first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate honours in Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, Applied Mathematics or related discipline.
• Excellent English written and spoken communication skills.
• Strong interest in mechanics, fabrication and experimental research; ability to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Combine hands-on fabrication and mechanical testing with nonlinear finite-element analysis, reduced-order modelling and design optimisation.
• Fabricate inflatable units and assemblies, measure deformation and force response, characterise switching behaviour and load-bearing capacity.
• Develop computational models to explain underlying mechanics and guide subsequent designs, including buckling, snap-through and interactions between units.

Skills

English communication

Independent working

Interest in mechanics

Education

Undergraduate degree in Engineering/Physics/Materials Science/Applied Mathematics

Tools

MATLAB

Python

Finite-element analysis

CAD

Job description

University of Oxford invites applications for a 3.5-year DPhil studentship in Engineering, focused on the design, modelling and experimental investigation of inflatable and multistable mechanical metamaterials. Based in the RADlab within the Department of Engineering Science, the project combines hands-on fabrication with advanced simulations to explore deployable, reconfigurable structures.

The successful candidate will work on fabrication, testing and analysis, developing computational models