Sustainable flexible electronics (including research visit at NTU, Singapore) (PHD scholarship)

Applications close

29 February 2024

You'll receive an annual stipend paid fortnightly, indexed annually to assist with your general living costs. In 2024, the annual stipend rate is $33,637 (AUD) at the full-time rate for up to 3.5 years.

Domestic students will receive an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Fees Offset.

International students will receive a Tuition Fee Sponsorship.

You’ll receive a living allowance during your research stay at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore of SGD$1,000 per month for a maximum duration of 12 months. While serving your residency at NTU, you will continue to receive your scholarship stipend under QUT scheme.

You will need to:

• meet QUT’s admission criteria for our Doctor of Philosophy degree , which includes meeting QUT’s English language requirements at the time of application
• commit to full-time, internal study
• be able to commence in the degree as soon as possible.

Ideally, you will:

• hold a master degree or honours degree in materials science, chemistry, or chemical engineering with a strong background in polymer and organic electronics
• have specific experience synthesizing conjugated molecules/polymers (desirable)
• understand having the ability to work closely and collaborate with colleagues is a must.

Candidates who have published research papers in peer-review journals as first authors are preferred.

You can apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to a QUT Doctor of Philosophy degree.

The first step is to email Professor Prashant Sonar , detailing your academic and research background, your motivation to research in this field and interest in this scholarship, and include your CV.

If supported to apply, you will then submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) following the advice for how to apply for a research degree .

In your EOI, nominate Professor Prashant Sonar as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship into question 2 of the financial details section.

Successful applicants will be contacted directly. We are seeking to commence this project as soon as possible.

This scholarship will be governed by the QUT Postgraduate Research Award (QUTPRA) conditions.

Flexible devices play a vital role in health monitoring, biomedical therapies, and human-machine interfaces. To tackle electronic waste from synthetic polymers, eco-friendly and sustainable nature derived materials offer a greener path for flexible electronic devices. Natural derived functional materials are promising for next-gen sustainable electronics due to unique qualities like environmental friendliness, abundance, low cost, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and energy efficiency compared to synthetics. Studies explore applications of polysaccharides (e.g., cellulose, starch, chitin/chitosan) and proteins (e.g., silk fibroin, collagen, gelatine) in flexible electronics, offering environmental benefits over synthetic materials.

Using natural derived functional materials, we aim to create a roadmap for sustainable development in flexible devices, balancing the benefits of natural materials with dependable performance in green electronics. This concept will transition flexible devices from conventional mountable devices to innovative on-spot devices, mitigating environmental concerns and bridging the technology gap for future human-machine-environment interactions.

This PHD will be included in a Joint Lab Program set up between the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Centre for Materials Science at QUT, Australia. Successful applicants are expected to spend up to 12 months of their candidature at NTU facilities in Singapore.