Optimisation & stabilisation of laser-driven ion sources using machine learning

Key facts

• Opens: Thursday 29 January 2026
• Deadline: Tuesday 31 March 2026
• Number of places: 1
• Duration: 48 months
• Funding: Equipment costs, Home fee, Stipend, Travel costs

Eligibility

You must hold a minimum of an upper Second-Class UK Honours degree or international equivalent in a relevant science or engineering discipline. Candidates must be UK Nationals and be willing to apply for and able to obtain Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance.

Please note that the start date for this opportunity is 1 October 2026.

Project Details

We are recruiting a motivated PhD candidate to undertake an exciting project within the EPSRC Energy Transfer Technologies Doctoral Training Hub. As a student of the hub, you will receive an enhanced stipend of £24,780 per year, plus additional funds of £7,000 a year for travel, conferences and research equipment. This project is co- funded by The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

This studentship will focus on advancing machine‑learning models to predict and control the conditions required for stable laser‑driven ion acceleration. Using data generated from simulations on high performance supercomputers and experimental measurements using the University of Strathclyde’s SCAPA 350 TW laser, you will develop and train models that enable predictable and adaptable high‑energy ion sources. The research will also explore reinforcement learning for adaptive ion‑beam optimisation and investigate transfer‑learning strategies to generalise across different high‑power laser facilities.

Objectives

The main objectives of this project are:

Through this project, you will gain comprehensive experience with high‑power laser systems, plasma‑based ion‑acceleration mechanisms and modern machine‑learning techniques. You will develop expertise in advanced computational physics and state‑of‑the‑art AI methodologies, equipping you with valuable, transferable skills that are highly sought after across both academia and industry.

• develop machine‑learning models (such as deep neural networks) that can predict and tune the properties of ion beams produced by intense laser–matter interactions
• investigate the integration of multiple data sources (such as radiation‑hydrodynamic simulations, particle‑in‑cell simulations and experimental measurements) to train and enhance predictive models
• apply transfer‑learning techniques to enable model generalisation across national and international high‑power laser systems
• collaborate with leading laser facilities in the UK and abroad to test, refine and validate the developed models

The hub

The Doctoral Hub specialises in developing research and training the next generation of leaders in energy transfer technologies for defence and related sectors. The successful candidate will be based at the University of Strathclyde and throughout their PhD will benefit from the support and expertise of our diverse academic community, a community of students working towards similar goals, as well as our specialist industrial network. Please check the Energy Transfer Skills Training Hub for further details.

Why join us?

• Industrial Collaboration: Each PhD student within the Hub is partnered with an industry collaborator, providing placement opportunities to work and train alongside industry experts
• Comprehensive Training: The Hub offers a blend of academic and industrial training, preparing you for diverse career pathways in research or industry
• Cohort Experience: Build your research network through inclusion in a vibrant cohort of PhD students that conduct research with academic leaders across leading UK institutions. Engage in online and face-to-face activities, including cohort-building events and collaborative learning exercises
• Funding: A generous fully funded studentship (no fees and a monthly personal payment) with additional support for conferences, travel, training, consumables and extended placement with industry collaborators

Further information

The industrial partner, Dstl , is a leading UK government organisation dedicated to advancing science and technology in the defence and security sector. As part of this studentship, Dstl will contribute to your supervision, offer a placement opportunity, and participate actively in the wider Hub community - benefiting from and contributing to its diverse academic and industrial network.

Funding details

The generous funding package includes full tuition fees and an enhanced stipend of £24,780 per annum. Additional support is available for conference attendance, specialised training, travel to industrial partners, and extended placements with industry collaborators. This studentship is open to home students only.

While there is no funding in place for opportunities marked "unfunded", there are lots of different options to help you fund postgraduate research. Visit funding your postgraduate research for links to government grants, research councils funding and more, that could be available.

Professor Paul McKenna

Deputy Associate Principal Physics

Dr Martin King

Research Fellow Physics

Dr Robert Deas (Dstl)

Apply

Number of places: 1

To read how we process personal data, applicants can review our 'Privacy Notice for Student Applicants and Potential Applicants' on our Privacy notices' web page .

Contact us

paul.mckenna@strath.ac.uk

Research areas