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Each year the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) awards scholarships to graduates to pursue a postgraduate qualification by research. Typically the scholarships are awarded to students who graduate with first class honours degrees, although exceptional candidates with upper second class degrees are also considered.
To apply for a scholarship, the candidate must identify a project supervisor, who will propose a programme of postgraduate research. The application procedure requires the submission of a personal statement by the candidate, a project description by the supervisor, and academic references. Applications can be made either by students in their final year of undergraduate study, or by individuals who have already completed their primary degree. Successful candidates receive a monthly stipend, as well as a budget for equipment and travel.
Full details of the IRCSET Postgraduate Research Scholarship Scheme are available at http://www.ircset.ie.
The deadline for applicants to submit applications is Wednesday 15th February 2012 at 5.00 pm (GMT/ UTC) 2011.
Why select Stokes?
 Experience a first-rate post-graduate education – we have an outstanding track record in PhD supervision, with over 50 PhDs successfully graduated to date
Join our experienced teams working on leading-edge research challenges in the application areas of energy, aerospace, ICT and micro-fluidics
Perform your research in one of UL’s foremost research institutes, in the context of large projects funded by the European Union, Irish national sources, and industry
Experience the unique ethos of innovation at Stokes which has underpinned numerous patents, successfully licensed technologies to industry, and created spin-out enterprise
Conduct your work in dedicated research space with comprehensively-equipped laboratories and contemporary simulation tools
Avail of excellent opportunities to travel - most of Stokes' PhD scholars spend periods with our research partners in Europe and the US
Position yourself for the next stage of your research career - the alumni of Stokes have strong track-records in post-doctoral research
Interested in applying to IRCSET?
Visit us in the Engineering Research Building at UL, and discuss your interests with the appropriate researchers - follow the links below for specific project outlines in the areas of energy, aerodynamics and microfluidics:
Energy Efficient Telecommunications
Modular Air Cooled Condensers for Concentrated Solar Power
Development of Novel Impact-Tolerant Electrically Conductive Adhesives
Two-Phase Flows in Micro-Total Analysis Systems
Drug Discovery using Microfluidics
Energy Efficient Buildings
Evolution of Boundary Layer Transition
We will work with you to define a research programme, and to help you craft your personal statement.
Energy Efficient Telecommunications
The Stokes Institute is a prominent partner in the CTVR Telecommunications Research Centre – a multi-university research consortium, supported by Science Foundation Ireland, in collaboration with Bell Laboratories. We have two funded PhD Scholarships on the theme of thermal energy management – one of today’s critical issues for the telecommunications industry– and a key aspect of Bell Labs’ Green Touch initiative in its mission to diminish carbon emissions from communications and data networks. The following topics will be addressed:
 Micro-fluidic valves for the thermal control of photonics integrated circuits
 Micro-refrigeration for the thermal management of laser arrays
All project themes will involve the core sciences of heat transfer and fluid mechanics, within the application area of electronic systems for communications and computing. The scholarships will be based within the CTVR team at Stokes, and conducted in close collaboration with Bell Labs, the innovation engine of Alcatel-Lucent, a worldwide R&D community that focuses its efforts on key technologies for telecommunications. It is renowned as the birthplace of information theory, the transistor, the laser and the UNIX operating system.
Further information: contact Dr. Jeff Punch, ER0-003, Stokes Institute, MA&BE Dept., UL. E. jeff.punch@ul.ie; T: +353-61-213004.
Modular Air Cooled Condensers for Concentrated Solar Power
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) has the potential to contribute a significant portion of the EU’s renewable energy targets. However, because CSP is likely to be deployed in regions where water is scarce, water cooling the condenser in a CSP plant is not feasible. Air cooled condensers exist, but they give rise to high power generation costs. The Stokes Institute is currently coordinating an EU-funded project, MACCSol, which will develop an energy efficient air cooled condenser technology which results in reduced power generation cost. To complement its activities in MACCSol, Stokes is currently seeking IRCSET postgraduate candidates for two projects:
 The development of CSP condenser air pre-chilling solutions
 An investigation of CSP condenser lifetime performance degradation
The successful candidates will be integrated into the MACCSol project, and will benefit from collaboration with European industrial and academic energy-focused organisations.
Further information: contact Dr Ronan Grimes, ER3-021, Stokes Institute, MA&BE Dept., UL. E: ronan.grimes@ul.ie; T: +353-61-213435.
Development of Novel Impact-Tolerant Electrically Conductive Ahesives (ECAs)
The basis for this research is the restriction on hazardous substances in electronic equipment which has inspired a search for alternatives to lead-containing solders. This project builds on a relationship between Stokes Institute and Henkel Research Laboratories on the development of electronic interconnect materials. ECAs offer numerous advantages, such as environmental friendliness, mild processing conditions, fewer processing steps, and fine pitch capability due to the availability of nano conductive fillers. However, there are also some limitations that need to be addressed: lower electrical and thermal conductivity compared to solder interconnects, and their poor impact strength. To overcome these issues many materials/chemistry/engineering problems must be solved, in particular the control of crosslink densities and crosslinking kinetics of the polymer during the curing stage. A range of state-of-the art materials characterisation techniques will be utilised: impact tests, DSC, DMTA, TGA, SEM, & AFM. The project complements activities within the reliability physics group at Stokes and the candidate will have the opportunity to spend time at Henkel Research Laboratories as well as to collaborate with US-based research institutes.
Further information: contact Dr. Maurice Collins , ER0-002, Stokes Institute, MA&BE Dept., UL. E. maurice.collins@ul.ie; T: +353-61-202867.
Two-Phase Flows in Micro-Total Analysis Systems
Micro-Total Analysis Systems (m-TAS) are microfluidic devices where the operations performed in a typical laboratory are scaled down to fit on a small chip, i.e. lab-on-a-chip. Since these devices mimic many chemical and biological processes, they perform actions such as mixing, thermal cycling, and synthesis of materials. These actions are typically performed on m-TAS devices using a two-phase flow regime where an aqueous phase is carried through the system within an organic, oil-like phase. The aqueous phase is transported in bubbles wrapped inside the organic phase. Heat transfer, pressure drop and mass transfer characteristics of such flows are complex and are currently not well understood. This project will develop theories to explain these transfer processes from a series of experimental measurements to be conducted at Stokes laboratories in UL. In addition to collaborations with overseas academics, scholars will also showcase their work at international conferences.
Further information: contact Dr Vanessa Egan, A1-104, Stokes Institute, MA&BE Dept., UL. E: vanessa.egan@ul.ie or Dr. Patrick Walsh, ER3-019, Stokes Institute, CEMS Dept., UL. E: pat.walsh@ul.ie; T: +353-61-233716.
Drug Discovery using Microfluidics
The project builds on over a decade of research on two-phase microfluidic flows at the Stokes Institute which to-date has led to spin out companies, patents and numerous publications for genetic analysis based research. We now seek to advance these technologies to emerging applications in science. This project aims to develop a microfluidic technology with target applications of drug discovery and synthesis of nano particles. Using microfluidics, it is possible to accelerate the drug discovery path by several orders of magnitude, and increase understanding of the interaction between drug and targeted cells.
Further information: contact Dr. Edmond Walsh, ERB-007, Stokes Institute, MA&BE Dept., UL. E: edmond.walsh@ul.ie; T: +353-61-213181.
Energy Efficient Buildings
Approximately one half of Europe’s energy demand comes from heating and cooling, and these sectors will be required to make a significant contribution to the EU’s target to source 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. In order to reduce this energy consumption, there is increased need for new models that can react in real time to the changing environment through integration with sensor networks in a range of building types. A PhD scholarship is currently available to develop models for building infrastructures that make optimum use of available sensors to maximise energy efficiency. The project will involve modelling, and an experimental phase utilising the state-of-the-art techniques of thermography and high speed single camera and stereo PIV systems. Presentation at leading fluid mechanics conferences and short term visits (1-2 months) to the Hewlett-Packard COOL team (Palo Alto, California) will also form a core part of the PhD program. The project provides the successful candidate with an opportunity to work with the leaders in the field in an industrial research environment.
Further information: contact Dr. Edmond Walsh, ERB-007, Stokes Institute, MA&BE Dept., UL. E: edmond.walsh@ul.ie; T: +353-61-213181.
Evolution of Boundary Layer Transition
The interactions between the leading edge of an aerofoil, and the free stream turbulence characteristics play a key role in the emergence of turbulent flows. This region controls boundary layer development, and hence the transition location and resultant entropy generation rates that lead to thermodynamic loss. Understanding the leading edge/free stream turbulence interactions are important for turbomachinery in technologies such as fossil and biofuel power plants and for wind- or hydro-turbines. Success will lead to a deeper understanding of how to control boundary layers, using controlled free stream turbulence characteristic, to create novel energy efficient aerodynamic designs through new technologies. This project builds upon a collaboration between the Stokes Institute and Imperial College London (ICL) on boundary layer research. The basis of the research is the development of a better understanding of the boundary layer transition breakdown process which will ultimately lead to novel boundary layer control methodologies.
Further information: contact Dr. Edmond Walsh, ERB-007, Stokes Institute, MA&BE Dept., UL. E: edmond.walsh@ul.ie; T: +353-61-213181.
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