Paul Donaldson

[Home student fees and stipend at UKRI minimum rate, plus £1000 per year travel and training budget.] PhD Studentship: Dynamic Pressurisation for Time-resolved Characterisations at the University of Birmingham offers an interdisciplinary research opportunity at the interface of engineering, chemistry, and large-scale facilities science. The project will develop dynamic pressurisation techniques for real-time crystallography and spectroscopy studies of samples in a liquid environment. The methods developed will support both in-house macroscopic measurements and integration with major UK national facilities, including the Central Laser Facility , the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source , and the Diamond Light Source at Harwell campus in Oxfordshire. The scientific case study will focus on water transport in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) , building on prior work on shock absorption in hydrophobic cavities and aiming to understand molecular processes in confined nanoporous environments in real time. The post is described as a rare opportunity to work across multiple world-leading central facilities and to build skills spanning instrumentation, time-resolved methods, X-ray science, neutron science, and laser-based spectroscopy. Supervision is led at Birmingham by Dr Yueting Sun , with local support from Dr Mingchao Liu . Co-supervision at Harwell will be provided by Prof Paul Donaldson (CLF-Ultra, time-resolved spectroscopy), Dr Ivan da Silva (ISIS-GEM, diffraction and crystallography), and Dr Dominik Daisenberger (Diamond-I15, high-pressure techniques). This creates a strong collaborative environment across engineering, fundamental science, and national-facility research communities. Funding is available at the UKRI minimum rate , covering home student fees and a stipend , with an additional £1000 per year travel and training budget . The project also includes support for technical and professional development through schools, workshops, and formal courses identified during development reviews. Applicants should have a 2:1 or 1st class degree . The ad indicates a preferred September start , with some flexibility. The application deadline is 27 August 2026 . Interested candidates are instructed to email Dr Yueting Sun with a CV as soon as possible.