PhD Scholarships in Civil and Environmental Engineering

The University of Queensland

The Federal Government 2012 Excellence in Research for Australia exercise confirmed The University of Queensland as one of the nation's top two universities, measured by the quality of its comprehensive range of specialised research fields. The Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Jiao Tong), Times Higher Education, and QS all rank UQ in the top 100 universities, globally. UQ is one of Australia's Group of Eight, and a founding member of Universitas 21, an international consortium of leading research-intensive universities.

The 45,500-strong student community at UQ includes more than 10,000 postgraduate scholars and more than 11,000 international students from 162 countries. The University has more than 7,000 academic and professional staff and a $1.6 billion annual operating budget. Its major campuses are at St Lucia, Ipswich, Gatton and Herston, in addition to teaching and research sites around Queensland and Brisbane city. The University has six faculties and eight institutes funded by government and industry grants, philanthropy and commercialization activities.

The School of Civil Engineering

The School of Civil Engineering is a leading provider of civil and environmental engineering research, attracting academic staff, researchers and students from around the world. Comprised of 38 academics, the school's staff represents a diverse range of research interests including research in water, environmental, geotechnical, structural and transportation engineering. The school's academic staff members are recognized leaders in their areas of specialization, and receive many invitations to undertake high-level consultancy for industry and government. Established links between the school and industry have secured a number of strategic partnerships. These partnerships provide funding to further our research priorities and ensure that teaching programs continue to evolve in line with advances in technology and industry requirements. Graduates of the school can be found all over the world, working at all levels of government and industry. Our alumni are taking leading roles in helping to build cleaner and sustainable industries, provide waste and pollution control and guide improved resource management.

The project

There are three exciting new opportunities to undertake a Doctor of Philosophy program. The scholarships are funded by a new ARC Discovery grant Next generation offshore blue water aquaculture, in conjunction with Ghent University, the University of California, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

The project aims to develop innovative technologies for the next generation of blue water aquaculture, focusing on developing novel floating concrete platforms, cages and anti-biofouling systems. If successful, the benefit will be the technology to create a new environmentally sustainable and globally competitive Australian offshore fish farming industry, with significant economic impacts. The project aims to address the significant societal and environmental concerns about the pollution of pristine coastal waters by nearshore fish farms. The outcomes also aim to enhance national and international capability to satisfy the global demand for fish protein and thereby assist in sustaining wild fisheries that are under threat worldwide. Three Ph.D. scholarships available to study wave conditions, wave loading on offshore structures, mooring and dynamic positioning, cage flushing, biofouling control and pathogen growth rates for offshore aquaculture.

The projects investigators are Professor Chien M. Wang, Professor Tom Baldock, Dr David Callaghan, Dr Ilje Pikaar, Dr. Joleah Lamb, Professor Korneel Rabaey and Professor Jorgen Amdahl.

The role(s)

Depending on the project, the successful candidate(s) will receive systematic training in:

Project 1

Ocean Engineering, focused on data collection and analysis for optimally locating offshore fish farm structures within the southern ocean. The student will perform an assessment of potential for offshore mariculture, identify operational parameters, investigate interactions between design and operational approaches and other structural mechanisms aimed at limiting weather damage and increasing usability and characterising ocean climate (data analysis and bespoke numerical modelling) at specific sites for application in determining fluid-structure dynamics. The student will liaise closely with the student in project 2, and other Ph.D. students working on the design of floating offshore structures and cages. Work will be conducted using Civil Engineering and university wide high performance computing facilities. This project will include, through interactions with other projects listed here, field and laboratory work.

To discuss this role please contact Dr David Callaghan ( dave.callaghan@uq.edu.au )

Project 2

Ocean and Coastal Engineering, focused on experimental and numerical modelling of offshore structures. The student will perform laboratory experiments to investigate wave and wind mooring loads, flushing and hydrodynamics of different cage and structure designs. The student will also develop or utilize numerical models of fluid flow to determine wave and wind loads on prototype scale structures and investigate the feasibility of dynamic positioning systems and station keeping systems. The student will liaise closely with the student in project 1, and other Ph.D. students working on the design of floating offshore structures and cages. Work will be conducted in the Civil Engineering wind and wave flumes, and also within small scale field tests.

To discuss this role please contact Professor Tom Baldock ( t.baldock@uq.edu.au )

Project 3

Applied electrochemistry, biofouling control. The student will conduct detailed investigations using laboratory scale electrochemical systems to fundamentally understand the relevant electrochemical processes and optimize the insitu production of oxidants as a means to mitigate biofouling. A second part of this PhD thesis will focus on the characterization production of magnetite nanoparticles (MNP) and assess microbial and pathogen colonization of materials used in current aquaculture facilities and newly proposed materials during exposure to oceanic conditions. The student may also be involved in field investigations at a local fish farm to translate the laboratory scale findings to real-life situations

To discuss this role please contact Dr Ilje Pikaar ( i.pikaar@uq.edu.au )

Selection criteria

The candidate(s) will have a master's degree or 1st Class Honours degree or equivalent in science/engineering in fields relevant to the above described projects and domestic applicants should be eligible for an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or equivalent (for more information, please visit: http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/domestic-student-scholarships). International applicants must meet the University of Queensland's English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements detailed at http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/english-language-proficiency-requirements.

Mandatory requirements for international applicants:

1. At least 1 high quality research publications or practical experience in the relevant field;
2. Excellent academic performance evidenced by a high Grade Point Average (GPA).

Remuneration

Award value: $27,596 per annum tax-free (2019 rate), indexed annually, for three years with the possibility of two 6-month extensions in approved circumstances.

Enquiries

To be considered for this scholarship, please visit https://scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarship/phd-scholarships-in-civil-and-environmental-engineering

• cover letter
• detailed resume
• complete academic records (including GPA scores/grades, and grading scale details)

Please note the following: Submitting the above documents does not constitute a full application for admission into The University of Queensland's PhD program. If you are selected as the preferred applicant, you will then be invited to submit a full application for admission. You can familiarise yourself with the documents required for this process on the Graduate School's website .

Before you apply you are encouraged to read the definitive rules for this scholarship prior to application, in particular any specific eligibility conditions and check the FAQs if you have any questions.