PhD Studentship on Light Collection in Liquid Argon TPC Neutrino Detectors (2017)

A fully funded studentship on the DUNE experiment is available to UK and international/overseas students for a September 2017 start.

The University of Sussex Experimental Particle Physics group plays a critically important role in a number of experiments at the frontiers of our knowledge of particle physics, with main involvement in: the ATLAS experiment and its upgrades at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, the SNO+ neutrinoless double beta decay experiment at SNOLAB (Canada), the NOvA and DUNE neutrino oscillation experiments at Fermilab (USA), and the Neutron EDM experiment at PSI (Switzerland).

Liquid argon based TPC detectors are an increasingly important part of short and long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. Detection of scintillation light in the detector from neutrino events can potentially provide access to better energy reconstruction, timing resolution, and position determination, allowing access to additional physics. This project would involve making high voltage compatibility measurements on wavelength shifting foils that are proposed to be installed on the cathode plane of the Short Baseline Neutrino Detector (SBND) detector at Fermilab, and if successful in SBND, the DUNE long baseline experiment far detector. The successful applicant would have the opportunity to spend an extended time at Fermilab at the time that the SBND detector is commissioned and begins taking data, and will be involved in analysis of light collection data for energy reconstruction in neutrino cross section measurements for SBND.

What you get

Bursary of £14,553 plus UK/EU fees for 3.5 years

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

Eligibility

Applicants should hold, or expect to hold, a UK undergraduate degree in physics or engineering. For practical questions about the application process and/or eligibility for funding, please contact: mpsresearchsupport@sussex.ac.uk

Due to funding restrictions, the studentship is open to UK and EU resident students only. However, we also welcome applications from self-funded non-EU students

Deadline

6 July 2017 23:59

How to apply

Apply on-line via the University of Sussex portal, http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply. Please state in the Finance section of the online form that you are applying for the ERC/MPS funded studentship supervised by Dr Clark Griffith.

Applications should include a CV, as well as transcripts of marks obtained on your degree(s) and the names and contact details of two academic referees.

Sponsors

This is a full-time studentship. With agreement of the supervisor the student may take on a limited amount of teaching, for which additional payment will be made.

The award includes an additional training grant of £1250 p.a. for short courses, books, travel, conferences etc.

The Experimental Particle Physics Group research webpages can be found here: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/epp/

Contact us

For additional information about the project, please contact Dr Clark Griffith at: W.C.Griffith@sussex.ac.uk

Enquiries about your eligibility, the progress of your application and admission to Sussex, should be sent to Rebecca Foster at mpsresearchsupport@sussex.ac.uk

Timetable

Early application is advised. The studentship will be allocated as soon as a suitable candidate is found.

Start date at Sussex: September 2017

Availability

At level(s):
PG (research)

Application deadline:
6 July 2017 23:59 (GMT)
the deadline has now expired