Research project scholarship

PhD scholarship opportunity at The University of Queensland for a project on photophysics of next-generation X-ray detector materials and devices. The research is based at St Lucia, Brisbane and focuses on developing highly sensitive, fast X-ray photodetectors using scalable fabrication processes and emerging low-cost semiconductors.

The project emphasizes materials science, physics, chemical engineering, and related areas such as optoelectronics, spectroscopy, thin film growth, characterisation, condensed matter physics, and semiconductor device fabrication. The materials mentioned include MOFs and halide perovskites, with a goal of building deep structure-property relationships and discovering new photophysics with real-world impact.

Supervision is by Dr Julian A. Steele (Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology / School of Mathematics and Physics) and Dr Miaoqiang Lyu (School of Chemical Engineering), both at The University of Queensland.

The scholarship is a Research project scholarship and includes a $37,500/year tax-free living stipend (2026 rate, indexed annually), full tuition fee coverage, and single OSHC for international candidates.

Eligibility is competitive and will consider academic record, publication record, honours and awards, and employment history. A background in materials science, optoelectronics, spectroscopy, thin film growth and characterisation, condensed matter physics, or chemical engineering is preferred.

The application deadline for the expression of interest is 17 June 2026. Applicants should submit an EOI for the PhD program, indicate that they are applying for an advertised project, and use scholarship code PHOTOPHYSICS-STEELE. No separate application for the project or scholarship is required.