Baza natječaja

Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award (DHPA) at Newcastle University

We are pleased to invite applications for our EPSRC-BP Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award. This fully-funded scholarship will enable a top quality, well-qualified, international student to study for a PhD in the area of Predictive Modelling, Process Diagnostics and Model-based Multivariate Statistical Process Control commencing in 2007 based in the RAE 5 rated School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials (Centre for Process Analytics and Control Technology – CPACT, www.cpact.com) at Newcastle University under the supervision of  Professor Julian Morris and Dr Jie Zhang.

About the DHPA Scheme
Further information about this scheme, including its rationale, is available at the following web site: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/hodgkin/.

Value of our EPSRC-BP DHPA
The DHPA will cover the cost of postgraduate tuition fees at the international/overseas rate and will provide a maintenance grant at a standard research council rate for up to three years' study, subject to satisfactory progress by the award holder.  A DHPA may not be held concurrently with another scholarship, such as an ORS Award.

Background to Research
The award will be jointly funded by one of the UK research councils (the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - http://www.epsrc.ac.uk) and an industrial partner (BP International Ltd – http://www.bp.com) and the research undertaken will be expected to be in the remit of the research council.

Predictive Dynamic Modelling for Next Generation Chemicals Processing
The chemicals sector, from petrochemicals refining to specialty, pharmaceuticals and functional materials, is a sector in transition. This is a consequence of changing domestic demands and the pressures of globalization and environmental and energy concerns. This particular project will focus on researching order-of-magnitude improvements in the petrochemicals refining area in order to retain competitive edge alongside ensuring that environmental and sustainability concerns are met, if not exceeded. To achieve such aims, radical changes in process and product innovation, development, scale-up and operation are needed. One of the routes to achieving this is to establish a predictive model-based paradigm across process and product development and production.  In today’s market driven responsive and flexible processing, a major challenge is the characterization of important unit processes and products. Research needs to be invested in the integration of chemical engineering and statistical modelling in this area in order to provide deeper understanding of the processes involved and methodologies of building predictive models. With the increasing attention being paid to advanced measurement technologies there is an opportunity to integrate process and chemicals variable information to provide ‘hybrid’ models (the conjunction of phenomenological models with data-based and statistical models).

Aims of the Project

1. Develop novel hybrid chemical engineering / statistical modelling theory and methodology for dynamic multi-step-ahead predictions, focusing in particular on complex petrochemical engineering systems that exhibit varying data constructs and qualities and large dimensioned input covariates. 
2. Develop an integrated data fusion methodology to combine known mechanistic process modelling approaches with data based approaches (eg process measurement data with analytical data from spectroscopic instruments, tomographic and image data, etc) within a hybrid mechanistic / statistical model-based predictive modelling framework.
3. Evaluate the methodologies and algorithms on BP’s range of simulation based models prior to real plant testing. 

Eligibility for our DHPA

• Candidates will be expected to hold a first-class degree or equivalent from a prestigious academic institution, either in the UK or overseas. The overriding criterion of the scheme  is excellence, and DHPA scholars should be easily recognizable as the 'best of the best'
• Candidates must be able to start their studies within the 2007-08 academic year
• We will not be able to accept applications from students who have already started their MPhil/PhD at Newcastle.
• Candidates must be from one of the following countries including India, China, Hong Kong and Russia: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt , El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,  Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Rep., Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic), Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States, Moldova, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Palau Islands, Palestinian Administered Areas, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda,  Russia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Federal Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Apply
Candidates must send both of the following documents:

• A full resume/CV including details such as personal information, academic qualifications, English language qualifications, work experience, contact details of 2-4 referees, etc.
• A 600-700 word typed essay in English (approximately 1-2 sides of A4) on a topic of relevance to the PhD demonstrating a grasp of theoretical debates in this field.

The above documents should be returned, by e-mail if possible, to: 

EPSRC-BP DHPA Applications
Student Welfare Service (Financial Support Team)
Newcastle University
6 Kensington Terrace
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
UK

E-mail: international-scholarships@ncl.ac.uk

Closing Date
The closing date for receipt of applications is Thursday, 30 August, 2007.

Further DHPA Information/Queries
If you have any queries, please contact our Financial Support Team at the e-mail address above.

Previous year's competition

EPSRC - BP Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Award (2006)