Postgraduate Research Opportunities

PhD Project Title: Emission Modelling of Light Into the Environment (EMILIE)
Theme: Energy
Supervisor: Prof Brian Espey, School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin
Email: ESPEYB@tcd.ie
Funding Information: This 4-year project is fully funded by SEAI. Student stiped is currently €25,000 per year.

Starting date: September 2024

Contact: Brian Espey to apply or for further information                                                

Project Outline and Context: The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Professor Brian Espey on a project entitled Emission Modelling of Light into the Environment (EMILIE) and will study light emission and energy use as well as light pollution through a combination of space- and ground-based techniques, including the use of drone imagery. The project involves international partners in Austria and Canada and funding is available for international travel. The goal of the project is to incorporate LiDAR and photogrammetry data through a geographic information system (GIS) modelling approach using the R and QGIS software packages and compare the results with satellite and ground-based observations.

The results of this work will be used to interpret observations and help inform local authorities and other stakeholders through including identifying key light emitting sources: public, private or commercial, and their potential impacts in terms of both energy and light pollution on the surrounding environment. Besides the energy use of the lighting itself, artificial light at night (ALAN) has been demonstrated to be associated with other energy use as well as economic activity, so this work has potential impact on the work of a wide range of stakeholders. See the reference list for previous relevant work.

Application Procedure: All applications should be sent to brian.espey@tcd.ie. The application should consist of a CV (max 2 pages), personal statement (max 2 pages), 2 letters of reference and exam transcripts. Applicants must have achieved at least 2.1 honours degree in Physics, Geography, Mathematics or a related discipline and have computational experience. The position will remain open until filled, a short list of applicants will be created and shortlisted applicants will then be interviewed.

Fees & Stipends: All fees for up to four years are covered by the PhD scholarship. In addition to this a PhD stipend of €25,000 per year. Additionally, research expenses of €2,400 per year are also available as well as funding for related travel.

Background: Monitoring of the Earth at night has become standard and has been driven by the current generation of satellites which provide detailed quantitative light measurements at low radiance. Such night-time imagery can be used to trace energy and economic output as well as the effects of both natural and man-made disasters, e.g. Covid-19. However, analysis of such material has primarily been qualitative since details of the light emission and obstructions (natural and man-made), as well as radiative transfer through a varying atmosphere, have been complex to handle. Until now studies have either attempted to use simplified models of light emission, i.e. a “typical” emitting region and apply this model over entire cities, or involve complex radiative transfer codes which could handle small regions modelled in detail, but which prove computationally intensive to apply over large areas.

Innovation: “Closing the loop” and finding a detailed connection between ground emission and satellite measurements requires an understanding of how light is emitted and in what quantities in terms of both azimuth and elevation angles, i.e. the so-called “city emission function” or CEF. At low angles such light causes light pollution in the surrounding countryside, and at high angles this light is emitted to space. To derive a complete estimate of the energy emitted from either space- or ground-based measurements therefore requires us to estimate the CEF. An approach developed here in Trinity utilises geographical information systems (GIS) software to model large areas by using the large amount of information about light sources as well as 3-D urban LiDAR measurements to 1m spatial resolution. Using this approach we have been able to calculate the integrated CEF of public lighting for a number of urban areas and show that it is similar to that assumed or back-modelled from all-sky measurements from remote sites. This work has been well received internationally.

Collaborators: This project involves international collaboration with partners in Canada (Prof. Martin Aubé) and Austria (Prof. Günther Wuchterl of Kuffner-Sternwarte, Vienna).

Objectives and Methodology: The initial work on this topic demonstrated the practicality of the approach. Since then, more extensive LiDAR mapping data has been made available publicly, opening up the opportunity of making the first detailed model of the light emission from an entire city, as well as to derive equivalent results for a range of representative Irish towns. The project would utilise these results to determine if the derived CEF results depend on the type of land use, the importance of sources of light other than public lighting, seasonal dependence (e.g. due to foliage) etc. Results will be compared with observations of light emission in other locations, especially in Canada and Austria and used as input to Prof. Aubé’s Illumina radiative transfer code. The output of this work will be estimates of total light and energy output from Irish towns which can be extended more generally to study the influence of light pollution on the environment.

Essential/Desired Abilities: You need be self-starter who is competent in computational skills and with an interest in applying geography/physics to practical problems. Software used in this work will centre around the freeware R and QGIS codes, but Python programming will also be required.

References: 

Espey, B. “Empirical Modelling of Public Lighting Emission Functions”, Remote Sensing 2021, 13(19), 3827; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13193827

Espey, B.R., Yan, X and Patrascu, K. “Real-World Urban Light Emission Functions and Quantitative Comparison with Spacecraft Measurements”, Remote Sensing 2023, 15(12), 2973; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15122973

We invite applications for a 4-year PhD position in the area of Extrasolar Atmospheres at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Ireland. The successful candidate will join Prof. Johanna Vosʼs research group in the School of Physics.

The Extrasolar Atmospheres group is a new and growing group at Trinity, that focuses on imaged extrasolar worlds ranging from brown dwarfs to exoplanets. The project will involve a mix of observational and computational techniques to carry out detailed investigations of extrasolar atmospheres. The successful candidate will have the possibility to focus their research based on their skills and interests, and will have the opportunity to work with data from world-class telescopes including the Hubble, Spitzer and James Webb Space Telescopes.

The successful candidate will also become part of the wider Trinity Astrophysics Group, a friendly and vibrant environment where world-leading research on exoplanets, supernovae, pulsars, and light pollution takes place. Trinityʼs campus is located at the heart of Dublin, which hosts a number of other astrophysics research institutes with an active community in Star and Planet Formation and Exoplanets. Trinity has access to ESO and ESA observatories such as ALMA, JWST, HST, the VLT, soon the ELT, as well as both EU and Irish research career development opportunities.

Applicants must have achieved, by the start date, a 1st or upper 2nd class (I or II.I or equivalent: http://tiny.cc/grtab) in a Masters or four-year undergraduate degree, in astrophysics or a related field. This PhD studentship is open to EU/EEA/UK applicants (subject to confirmation of status), as well as non-EU candidates. The position is fully funded for four years (as standard in Irish Universities) and covers tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of €25000 per year, as well as a laptop/computer and work-related travel costs. The nominal start date is September 1st, 2024.

Applicants should submit a CV (max 2-pages), including the names of two referees which will be contacted if shortlisted, and a statement (max one-page) outlining their academic experience and motivation for pursuing this PhD position. Complete applications received by the application deadline of 20th February 2024 will receive full consideration. Applications from traditionally under-represented minorities in physics and astronomy are particularly welcome.

Applications, references, as well as any queries, can be submitted via email to  astrojobs@tcd.ie – please include Extrasolar Atmospheres PhD application in the subject heading.

We invite applications for a 4-year PhD position in the area of Exoplanetary Systems at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Ireland. The successful candidate will join Prof. Luca Matrà’s research group, funded by the E-BEANS (Exoplanets and Belts of Exocomets around Nearby Stars) ERC Starting Grant, with the overarching goal of understanding the potential for young Earth analogues to be provided with volatile molecules in the latest stages of formation.

The candidate will work towards the goals of the ERC project, by either focusing on giant impacts between forming planets in the inner (~terrestrial) regions of young planetary systems, or by constraining the structure of outer exocometary belts at tens of au, and what they tell us about the interaction of outer planets with volatile-rich exocomets. Each project complements a modelling component with exploiting new high resolution dust and gas observations of exoplanetary systems with ALMA. The group is leading or involved in large collaborations including the REASONS survey, the ARKS ALMA Large program, and benefits from multiwavelength expertise with HST, VLT/CRIRES+ and incoming JWST data.

Applicants must have, by the start date (nominally September 1^st 2024), have achieved a 1^st or upper 2^nd class (I or II.I, or equivalent: http://tiny.cc/grtab) in a Masters or 4-year undergraduate degree, in Astrophysics or related field. Previous research experience is required, with preference given to applicants with expertise in either planetary impacts, exocometary belts or more broadly in planet formation/circumstellar disks and/or mm/radio interferometry observations.

The successful candidate will become part of the Trinity Astrophysics Group, a friendly and vibrant environment where world-leading research on exoplanet systems/atmospheres, supernovae, pulsars, and light pollution takes place. Trinity’s campus is located in the heart of Dublin, which hosts a number of other research institutes with an active community in Star and Planet Formation+Exoplanets. TCD has access to ESO and ESA observatories such as ALMA, JWST, HST, the VLT, soon the ELT, as well as both EU and Irish research career development opportunities.

The full-time PhD studentship is nominally open to EU/EEA/UK-based applicants (due to differing tuition fees, definitions here), though full consideration will be given to exceptional non-EU candidates. The position is fully funded for 4 years (as standard in Irish Universities), covering tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of €25000/year, as well as a laptop/computer and work-related travel costs. The nominal start date is September 1^st, 2024, but a later starting date can be negotiated. The group has access to dedicated computing servers and high-performance facilities through Trinity’s Research IT infrastructure and the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC).

Applicants should submit a CV (max 2-pages), including the names of two referees which will be contacted if shortlisted, and a research statement (max 1-page) outlining their academic experience and motivation for pursuing a PhD in Astrophysics. Complete applications received by the application deadline of February 20^th, 2024 will receive full consideration. Applications from traditionally under-represented minorities in physics and astronomy are particularly welcome.

Applications, as well as any queries, can be submitted via email to astrojobs@tcd.ie – please include Exoplanetary Systems PhD application in the subject heading.

Applications are invited for a four-year PhD position in supernova and transient research at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. The successful applicant will join the group of Prof. Kate Maguire to work on topics related to the ERC-funded project, CosmicLeap, with the ultimate goals of constraining the multiple ways that white dwarf stars can explode, their contribution to nucleosynthesis, and improving the use of Type Ia supernovae as precision cosmological probes.

The supernova and transient group are actively involved in several transient surveys, including the Zwicky Transient Facility, the upcoming La Silla Southern Sky Survey (LS4), and the Time Domain Extragalactic Survey (TiDES) of the multi-object spectroscopic survey, 4MOST.  The data from these surveys, combined with the huge rate of data from the Rubin Observatory’s LSST along with detailed comparisons via machine-learning with explosion models, will revolutionise our understanding of extragalactic transient phenomena. The group has access to dedicated computing servers and high-performance facilities through Trinity’s Research IT infrastructure and the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC).

Successful applicants will have the possibility to focus their research based on their skills and interests. Potential projects could be related to exploiting these new data in the context of understanding how white dwarfs explode, their host galaxy dependencies, and their use for new cosmological measurements. More computationally-focussed projects are also possible, such as rapid radiative transfer modelling of explosive transients and/or the development of novel machine-learning techniques for comparing explosion models to these new datasets.

The successful candidate will become part of the Trinity Astrophysics Group and will be encouraged to actively contribute with other researchers in the lively, diverse, and friendly research environment at Trinity College Dublin, as well as become a member of the international collaborations the group are part of. Trinity’s campus is in the heart of Dublin, which hosts several other research institutes, with an active community in supernova and transient research.

Applicants must have achieved, by the start date a 1st or upper 2nd class (I or II.I, or equivalent: http://tiny.cc/grtab) in a Masters or four-year undergraduate degree in astrophysics or a related field.  The nominal start date is September 1st, 2024, but a later starting date can be negotiated. This PhD studentship is open to EU/EEA/UK applicants (subject to confirmation of status), though full consideration will be given to exceptional non-EU candidates. The position is fully funded for four years (as is standard in Irish Universities) and covers tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of €25000 per year, as well as a laptop/computer and work-related travel costs.

Applicants should submit a CV (max 2-pages), including the names of two referees who will be contacted if shortlisted, and a statement (max one-page) outlining their academic experience and motivation for pursuing this PhD position. Complete applications received by the application deadline of 20^th February 2024 will receive full consideration. Applications from traditionally under-represented minorities in physics and astronomy are particularly welcomed.

Applications, as well as any queries, can be submitted via email to astrojobs@tcd.ie  – please include ‘Supernovae and Transients PhD’ application in the subject heading.

Project on Exploiting Novel Covalently Integrated Porphyrin Networks, their Characterisation and their use as Sensors

There are three fully funded 4-year PhD positions in the School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland to work on a collaborative project in the group of Prof. Cormac McGuinness. The 4 year programme is a structured PhD programme. The funding is at €22,000 per annum as a tax-free stipend in each instance.

Description:

The project will involve the investigation of novel nanostructures and nanomeshes that incorporate functional metal-porphyrin molecules through on-surface synthesis techniques. The experimental investigations will explore the electronic structure of these systems through both in-situ and ex-situ surface science techniques and through advanced x-ray spectroscopic techniques that are available at the synchrotron radiation facilities of Europe. These techniques would include scanning probe microscopies, STM, AFM-Raman, laboratory XPS, optical techniques such as RAS in Dublin and high-resolution core-level XPS, x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS/NEXAFS), ambient-pressure XPS (AP-XPS) as well as angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) at synchrotron beamlines. Our interest is in the electronic structure arising from differing central metals in the porphyrin meshes, the influence this has on the interactions with adsorbates and the potential function of these novel nanostructures as sensors. The investigation of these nanostructure as sensors will require complementary characterisation measurements, both in-situ and ex-situ, as well as necessary integration into device architectures for their I-V response as sensors. Experiments and theoretical approaches will serve to underpin the basic applied research in this area, and the project will work towards developing these materials as new highly-specific molecular electronic sensors. Experimental investigations via advanced x-ray spectroscopic techniques that investigate electronic structure, in-situ on-surface synthesis and chemical interactions are anticipated to occur at facilities such as the MAX-IV Laboratory, Lund University, Sweden (where we collaborate), or at the Diamond Light Source, Oxford, UK and the BESSY II synchrotron, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Germany.
The three PhD students are expected to participate in all aspects of the project but will then specialise in specific areas according to the work packages of the project as a whole.

Applicant:

The successful applicant will have a strong physics, nanoscience or physical chemistry background, they must demonstrate strong interest and self-motivation in the subject and exhibit the ability to think analytically and creatively. Candidates will be expected to take ownership of their aspects of the project. It is essential that the applicant has an enquiring and rigorous approach to research as well as good team-working, observational and communication skills (both presentation and writing skills in English). Previous research experience in contributing within any collaborative interdisciplinary research environment is highly desirable, while experience in functional materials, in scanning probe microscopies, in advanced x-ray spectroscopies or synchrotron-based experiments, in sensor research, or in clean room lithographic techniques though not essential would be highly valued in any applicant. In general, training in appropriate areas will be provided or sought.

The successful applicant will be joining a group of researchers with parallel research projects, and will be primarily based in the School of Physics in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland but will collaborate with researchers from the Senge group in the School of Chemistry, TCD and researchers from the School of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University, as well as beamline scientists in MAX-IV and at a number of facilities listed above.

Eligibility:

All candidates whether Irish, EU, UK and non-EU in origin are encouraged to apply. The anticipated start date for the PhD is from 1st September 2024. Applications are welcomed immediately. The positions may be filled as soon as appropriate highly qualified candidates are found. Those able to start on time or without undue delay and/or more highly qualified will be at an advantage as compared to other students. The final deadline for applications is no later than Monday 10th June 2024.

A general minimum requirement for PhD entrants is the applicant must have a Second Class Honours Grade I (a II.1) or higher Bachelors degree, preferably in Physics, Nanoscience, Chemistry or equivalent. Those with a First Class Honours (a I) in their Bachelors degree in these subjects or a higher level Masters degree will be at an advantage as compared to other applicants.

For more information:

Informal enquiries to Prof. McGuinness are encouraged (Cormac.McGuinness@tcd.ie ).
More detailed information can be available upon request.

Applicants should include in their application to Prof. McGuinness

1. a motivation letter detailing their suitability and interest in the topic,
2. a detailed Curriculum Vitae
3. and contact information for 2 academic referees.

Please title your email with the subject line: "PhD application - nanomeshes"