PhD studentship – Development of Biophotovoltaic Prototypes for Architectural Integration
Award Summary
The funded PhD studentship covers home tuition fee rates and an annual stipend of £17,668 (subject to minor change) for 3 years.
Overview
Newcastle University is ranked 1st in the UK and 18th globally in the QR World University Rankings for Sustainability and Social Impact (2022). This studentship is a unique opportunity to investigate the design, scalability, and life cycle of biofacade prototypes for clean energy generation.
Photosynthetic microorganisms (hereafter algae) have the potential to transform building facades into ecospheres where energy can be harvested and consumed in a closed loop. Photosynthesis harvests and utilises light energy to split water and fix C02 for autotrophic growth and in this process algal cells release some electrons extracellularly. Biophotovoltaics (BPVs) harness such electrogenesis of oxygenic photosynthesis to generate a small amount of electricity in the light as well as in the dark.
The research project will uniquely investigate the semi-living device design itself which has not been explicitly developed. Design-led scientific inquiry into early-stage use-inspired research such as this can lead to a quantum leap in technology readiness levels. This project responds to timely interest in biofacades from both architecture and algal biotechnology for a net-zero society.
Scalability bottlenecks need solutions particularly in response to the global challenge of electrical waste in tandem with carbon-neutral architectural visions. We aim to harness Nature’s 2.7-billion-year energy solution for both technology and culture.
The successful candidate will benefit from the supervisor’s earlier work ‘Solar Biobattery’, building upon existing collaborations (Sawa M, Fantuzzi A, Bombelli P, Howe CJ, Hellgardt K & Nixon PJ (2017) Electricity generation from digitally printed cyanobacteria. Nature Commun. 8, 1327).
Number Of Awards
1
Start Date
January 2023
Award Duration
3 years
Application Closing Date
20 Dec 2022
Sponsor
Co-funded by the Newcastle University’s NUAcT scheme and theHub for Biotechnology in the Build Environment (HBBE) .
Supervisors
Dr Marin Sawa
Eligibility Criteria
Home and international students are eligible to apply. International students would need to demonstrate they can pay the difference between the home and international fee level.
Candidates must have:
Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS 6.5 overall (6.5 in writing and minimum 6.0 in all others).
The candidate will develop understanding and skillsets in interdisciplinary areas of investigation including the design and characterisation of photosynthetic bioelectrodes and biophotovoltaics. The research will involve algae/cyanobacteria cultivation, cell immobilisation, biofilm, prototype fabrication, electrochemical characterisation, bioimaging, and life cycle analysis and design.
We are committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion and encourage applications from under-represented groups.
How To Apply
1. Contact Dr. Marin Sawa (marin.sawa@ncl.ac.uk )
2. Email the following to Marian Kyte marian.kyte@newcastle.ac.uk (CC Marin Sawa ) quoting the reference code APL033 in the heading:
3. To apply for a studentship, you must register and apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal
Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.
Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:
You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:
In addition, before you submit your application you will need to upload the following supporting documentation:
You will not be able to submit your application until you have submitted all required documents/information.
Contact Details
Dr Marin Sawa
E-mail: marin.sawa@ncl.ac.uk
School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape
Newcastle University
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