Project Position

BSc/MSc Project Positions

Project positions are open in the MAVENs group for students in the penultimate years of their BSc or MSc.

Project Areas

Every project sits within one of the group’s three research pillars, each built on the same idea — that disorder is what decides whether a material works:

  • Why do some magnets keep their magnetism when you disturb them, and others lose it? When you mix or substitute atoms in a magnetic alloy, the magnetism can survive, shift, or collapse. Projects here ask what controls that — predicting magnetic transition temperatures, and the cooling effect that comes with them, from the atomic makeup of the alloy. (DFT and KKR-CPA; the most accessible entry point.)
  • What lets a defect in a material hold onto quantum information, and what destroys it? A missing atom in an oxide can host a spin that, in principle, stores a quantum bit — but its surroundings tend to scramble it. Projects here work out the electronic structure of such defects and what makes their quantum state fragile or robust. (DFT+U and multi-step workflows; for students comfortable juggling several tools.)
  • Can the messiness of a real, mixed-up catalyst be turned into an advantage? In MXene catalysts made from many elements at once, no two sites are identical — so the property that matters spreads into a range of values. Projects here ask which mixtures push that range toward the sweet spot for splitting water. (Structure generation and DFT; computationally heavy but conceptually direct.)

Eligibility

  • Ongoing BSc or MSc (or equivalent) in Physics, Materials Science, Chemistry, or Computer Science
  • Some exposure to quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, or numerical methods
  • Familiarity with Python is helpful but not required — you will pick it up if you don’t have it

What We Expect

  • A minimum commitment of three semesters. We do not take students for a single semester — meaningful research is not possible on that timescale, and it is not fair to either of us to start something we cannot finish.
  • Willingness to read difficult material, debug things that break, and write up your work as you go.
  • Honesty about what you do and don’t understand.

How to Apply

Write to me with your details and a short note on what about the group’s work interests you. Before applying, read the Joining MAVENs page — it covers what working here actually looks like.

Deadline

For projects starting in the 2027 academic year, apply by 30 June 2026.