🔬 Fully-funded 4-year PhD Opportunity in Space Physics 🌌
Applications are welcome for a fully funded PhD studentship to work on particle dynamics in turbulent plasmas within the Solar and Space Physics Group at Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK.
📅 Start date: 1 October 2026
⏳ Duration: 4 years
📌 Application deadline: 2 February 2026
⚠️ Eligibility: Due to funding restrictions, this studentship is available only to UK Home students (UK nationals or those with settled/pre-settled status or indefinite leave to remain/enter).
🔍 Project overview
The successful candidate will investigate “The interplay between turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and pressure anisotropies in space plasmas” using ESA and NASA spacecraft missions.
The project will involve:
• analysis of in-situ solar wind measurements near Earth (e.g. by Wind, Cluster, Magnetospheric Multiscale)
• analysis of observations closer to the Sun (by Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe)
• analysis of existing kinetic simulation datasets to support interpretation of observations (optional)
• study of theoretical aspects in greater depth (optional).
🌍 Training & opportunities
The studentship offers extensive opportunities for:
• Advanced scientific training
• Attendance at national and international conferences and workshops
• Research visits to collaborators in the UK, Europe, and the US
• Engagement with current and future space missions
🤝 Come and meet the research team
You will join a strong, inclusive, and supportive research team. The very best way to get a taste of this is to come and visit the Solar & Space Physics Group in person, meet your fellow PhD students, and meet the PhD supervisors.
We have funding to support all UK National applicants who wish to visit the research group, covering reasonable travel and accommodation costs. Please contact me if you are interested in visiting us before the application deadline.
📄 Full advert and application details:
👉https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/the-interplay-between-turbulence-magnetic-reconnection-and-pressure-anisotropies-in-space-plasmas-ref-id-rs26-se-epm-franci/?p193127
📬 Informal enquiries:
If you’re interested, feel free to contact the supervisor:
👉 luca.franci@northumbria.ac.uk
🙏 Please share this opportunity within your networks if you can — thank you!
Best wishes,
Luca Franci (He/Him)
Royal Society University Research Fellow (Assistant Professor)