Funding

Funded (UK/EU students only)

Project code

SMDE8290723

Department

School of Mechanical and Design Engineering

Start dates

October 2023

Application deadline

31 July 2023

Applications are invited for a fully-funded three year PhD to commence in October 2023. 

The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Technology, and will be supervised by Dr Theodora Mavridou, Dr Michel Leisure and Prof. Hom Dhakal.

Successful applicants will receive a bursary to cover tuition fees for three years and a stipend in line with the UKRI rate (£18,622 for 2023/24). Bursary recipients will also receive a £1,500 p.a. for project costs/consumables. The bursary is open to UK and EU students only

The work on this project could involve:

  • Multiparametric Analysis and Design
  • LCSA = LCA + LCC + SLCA, Life Cycle Sustainable Assessment = Life Cycle Analysis+ Life Cycle Cost+ Social Life Cycle Assessment
  • Multi Criteria Decision Making Tool 

Increasingly, Engineering design practise have taken the route of decisions made being weighted and justified by their basis of not only design but on ethical considerations as well.

For a product or process to be deemed as sustainable one must assess the product utility and social acceptability. In relation to the development of a sustainability LCA, the issue of which products can be called sustainable needs to be handled. 

As Identified in the latest United Nations ‘Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products’ report that the experience with product assessments focusing on social aspects is still limited. Due to the lack of tools (e.g. software), the use of S-LCA may be limited and a large amount of resources will be needed to perform a comprehensive study. This project aims a developing the relevant tools towards that goal. 

Therefore, it is clear that the UN view S-LCA as an imperative for future LCA evaluation with an urgent need for application further identifying the REACH EU directive as a prime example of the need for S-LCA.

Under that light the proposed project aims at addressing the identified needs with the development of a suitable framework that helps with the codification and, therefore, democratisation of Social LCA as an integral part of the Ethics approach to the LCA process.

 

 

Entry requirements

You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in an appropriate subject. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

An enthusiastic and self-motivated person with good team-working, observational and communication skills are essential.  Experience in materials testing and characterisation, life cycle assessment (LCA) will be an advantage.

 

 

 

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact Dr Dora Mavridou (dora.mavridou@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, you can use our online application form. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV.  Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.

If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code SMDE8290723 when applying.