NOWNano DTC: The North West Nanoscience Doctoral Training Centre

NOWNano DTC: The North West Nanoscience Doctoral Training Centre

NowNano DTC students undertake a four-year doctoral training programme. A major aim of the DTC is to create a cohort of researchers that are able to draw on knowledge from a broad spectrum of sciences and to work in interdisciplinary teams. The challenge is to enable our students to understand the different languages and philosophies of disciplines as diverse as theoretical physics & astronomy and medicine.

The aim of the first six months of the programme is to expose students to the full breadth of nanoscience and nanotechnology and to provide them with the skills and background knowledge that they will need during their Ph.D. projects in order to understand the diverse concepts and knowledge that they will inevitably encounter. To this end, the programme includes not only lecture courses and directed self-study (inquiry-based learning) but also extended (12 weeks-long) laboratory projects covering different aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Also during this time, students will have an opportunity to learn about the available Ph.D. research projects through presentations by potential supervisors and visits to research labs. It is expected that many projects will be interdisciplinary, with co-supervision by academics from different Schools/Departments, providing students with access to the world-class facilities.

What is NOWNano? NOWNANO builds on the world-leading expertise in all nanoscience within Manchester and Lancaster universities to offer a broad interdisciplinary doctoral training center. PhD students will receive initial training that will show them the breadth and potential of nanoscience before they focus on mastering one specific area of the subject. Throughout the research training, the cohort will meet and discuss their research, building a group of outstanding scientists that will help to lead world research in nanoscience in the future. Ph.D. in NanoScience Applications are invited for up to 20 Ph.D. places in a Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in NanoScience. NOWNano involves top-rated research groups from the Schools of Physics & Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Materials, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Pharmacy and Medicine at Manchester, and the Department of Physics at Lancaster University. Students will receive state-of-the-art research training in key techniques before embarking on a 3.5 years research project in one of the large spectrum of projects.

Our Research The research remit of NOWNANO DTC is very broad, reflecting the fact that Nanoscience is inherently interdisciplinary. Our doctoral training center involves nine different Schools or more than 20 research groups. Recent research highlights include:

• The development of graphene – the only strictly two-dimensional material, promising a myriad of applications (graphene was discovered in 2003 by The Manchester Condensed Matter group, which remains the world-leader in this fast-developing field)
• New man-made metamaterials for nanophotonics
• Nano-structures for data storage
• Liquid crystals applications in nanophotonics and as biosensors
• Nanostructured materials for the next generation photovoltaics
• Making and studying quantum dots for applications such as display technology, lighting, solar cells, and biological imaging.
• Synthesis of ceramic nanoparticles and fabrication of nanostructured ceramic coatings
• THz nanoelectronics, quantum switches, and rectifiers
• Using nanoparticles for tissue engineering
• Molecular magnets for quantum information processing