This 4-year PhD studentship is open to both Home (UK) and international applicants. The successful candidate will receive an annual stipend at the UKRI minimum rate (currently £21,805 per year) plus £1,000/annum enhancement, and a research training support grant of up to £20,000 for the full 4-year programme. This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually, the projects that receives the best applicants will be successful.
Sound is fundamental to how people sense, interpret and respond to the world. Yet hearing needs vary between individuals because ear-canal geometry, hearing ability and the sounds that are most important for communication vary from person to person. This PhD will develop a new type of 3D-printed metal structure, i.e. the next generation of additively manufactured metallic acoustic metamaterials, that can shape and amplify specific sounds, particularly those important for human communication. The aim is not to build a complete hearing aid but to create a key functional component that could improve future hearing technologies.
The project will establish a human-informed inverse-design framework. Information about ear-canal geometry and speech-relevant sounds will be used as design inputs. Mathematical and computational models will then optimise metallic metamaterial architectures for targeted wave compression and pressure amplification. The resulting structures will be manufactured by additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing, enabling compact, geometrically complex metallic components that cannot be produced using conventional methods. Dimensional metrology, materials characterisation and acoustic testing will quantify manufacturing accuracy and functional performance. The measured data will be fed back into the models to understand how AM-induced deviations affect acoustic response and to improve subsequent designs. Artificial-ear models and acoustic sensors will be used to quantify performance and determine how manufacturing deviations affect acoustic responses.
The project brings together expertise from engineering, applied mathematics, acoustics and hearing science. The student will receive training in acoustic-wave modelling, numerical optimisation, metamaterial design, AM, process monitoring, metrology, materials characterisation, acoustic measurement, psychoacoustic experimental design, research ethics and data analysis. The project will operate through an iterative human-input, design, make, measure and perceive cycle, providing the student with an unusually broad and integrated research skill set.
This project is expected to start in September 2027.
Before you apply: Please contact the main project supervisor, Dr Yuze Huang, to learn more about the project and discuss whether it may be suitable for you.
To be considered for this project you must submit a formal application through our online application portal by following the instructions provided here. Please note that you must select programme FSE PhD President’s Doctoral Scholarship: If you already have an applicant account, use this link to open an application for FSE PhD President's Doctoral Scholarship. If you do not yet have an applicant account, follow the account setup instructions and then use this link to open an application for the correct programme.
When applying, please specify the full title and supervisor/s of the project, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees. You must also upload a Supporting Statement describing your motivation to apply to the project, your CV and transcripts of awarded and in-progress university qualifications. Please note late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
