PhD Studentship: Techniques for Space-based Space Domain Awareness

Would you like to continue your academic journey with a PhD in space engineering? We invite applications from highly motivated individuals who are interested in developing techniques to improve space-based Space Domain Awareness. You will become a key part of a research project team within the Microwave Integrated Systems Laboratory (MISL), working on the EPSRC funded project “Multi-dimensional quantum-enabled sub-THz Space-Borne Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) sensing for space domain awareness and critical infrastructure monitoring - SBISAR”. Your PhD research will contribute to the creation of a framework of novel approaches and methods for characterising objects in space.

You should have a good honours degree in a relevant discipline at the time of taking up the position, ideally commencing in September 2024. Relevant disciplines include, but are not limited to, physics, aerospace engineering, electrical and electronic engineering. You will have demonstrable capability and willingness to conduct literature reviews, laboratory and computational experiments, and present your work to audiences in both written and oral formats. Your research will delve into a range of technical areas, including the development of multi-temporal, multi-perspective observational scenarios in space, computer modelling and simulation, and ISAR image processing.

If successful, you will join a dynamic team of highly engaged, enthusiastic and productive researchers. You will be supervised by Dr Leah-Nani Alconcel (School of Metallurgy & Materials, primary supervisor) and Prof. Marina Gashinova (School of Engineering, secondary supervisor).

Funding notes:

The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). UK Home and EU students with settled status are eligible for the full funding package.

References:

Alconcel, L.-N., Jones, G., Coe, M., Gashinova, M., and Cherniakov, M.: Sub-Terahertz Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) for monitoring of high-value space assets , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-8635, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-8635 , 2024.

E. Marchetti, A. G. Stove, E. G. Hoare, M. Cherniakov, D. Blacknell and M. Gashinova, "Space-Based Sub-THz ISAR for Space Situational Awareness—Concept and Design," in IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 1558-1573, June 2022.