School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering

The University of Queensland's School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering maintains a world-class reputation and is at the cutting-edge of engineering education, research and expert consultation across the fields of mechanical, materials, mining, aerospace and mechatronic engineering. The School’s reputation for research excellence attracts academia from around the world. Our diverse research programs address the evolving needs of industry and society, and contribute to economic and social development.  The School’s established research strengths in hypersonics, light metals, geothermal energy and mining technology, are complemented by continued growth in areas such as solar thermal, composites, steels, surface engineering, metals manufacturing and rock mechanics.

Within the School, Prof Mingxing Zhang (http://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/404) leads a research group who work on grain refinement of cast metals, metal additive manufacturing, surface engineering, alloy development, steels and wear-resistant alloys for the mining and mineral industries. The group has five scholarships available to applicants who hold with an Honours or equivalent qualification in Materials Engineering, mechanical engineering or related discipline, to commence a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the areas of materials science and engineering

The role

The PhD project will be conducted within the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering and School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering working on an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project to develop new generation of aluminium alloys through big data analytics.

The topics are:

• Development of a big data analytic knowledge model that is capable of correlating the chemical compositions and processes of aluminium alloys to the mechanical properties.
• Design and development of new aluminium alloys and the associated processing using the big data analytic model.

The successful candidates will receive training in the physical metallurgy of metals, manufacturing of aluminium alloys, fundamental of big data analytics and machine learning process, and in the required laboratory measurement techniques.

Selection criteria

Domestic candidates should have an Honours degree or equivalent in Materials Engineering, mechanical engineering (or related disciplines).  Candidate to work on the big data analytics should have an Honours degree or equivalent in Information Technology.

All candidates must meet the requirements of admission into the PhD program (https://graduate-school.uq.edu.au/uq-research-degrees).

Applicants should also be eligible for an Australian government-funded or UQ-founded Scholarship or equivalent (https://graduate-school.uq.edu.au/scholarships).

For the project to be applied for, the student will be required to have and/or develop the following knowledge, skills and attributes: 

• Sound knowledge of the science and engineering of metals. 
• Capacity to participate in production of experimental iron, steel and aluminium castings in the University’s experimental foundry, taking part in quality assurance and traceability monitoring. 
• Well-developed laboratory and practical skills, including safe operation of rotating equipment, accurate measurements and data recording. 
• Capacity to participate in field trials at remote mine sites, liaising with site personnel and taking detailed on-site measurements of worn multi-specimen test plates. 
• Ability to operate TEM, SEM and EDS instruments. 
• Demonstrable commitment to good practice in data management. 
• Ability to communicate technical concepts and the logical “story” of the project in clearly written English. 
• Sound knowledge of big data analytics. 

Previous research and/or industry experience in fields such as foundry technology or minerals industry maintenance or big data analytics would be viewed favourably.

Candidates will also need to be aware of and comply with legislation and University policy relevant to the duties undertaken, including:

• the University’s Code of Conduct;
• requirements of the Queensland occupational health and safety (OH&S) legislation and related OH&S responsibilities and procedures developed by the University or Institute/School;
• the adoption sustainable work practices and compliance with associated legislation and related University sustainability responsibilities and procedures;
• requirements of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000, the National Code 2007 and associated legislation.

Remuneration

$27,596 per annum tax-free (2019 rate), indexed annually, for three years with the possibility of two 6-month extensions in approved circumstances.

Enquiries

For specific questions about the role please email Professor Mingxing Zhang, Mingxing.Zhang@uq.edu.au.

Applications

To apply for admission and scholarship, follow the link below. There is no separate application for scholarship because you will be given the opportunity to request scholarship consideration on the application for admission.

https://scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarship/phd-research-scholarship-in-materials-engineering

Prior to applying, check your eligibility and prepare your documentation.

You should also contact Professor Mingxing Zhang (Mingxing.Zhang@uq.edu.au) to discuss your suitability for this scholarship prior to submitting an application.

Apply now

Please ensure that you

• select 'I am applying for, or have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship'
• enter in the free-text field 'MatEng’
• list the enrolling unit as the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
• enter Professor Mingxing Zhang as your supervisor

Before you apply:

• You are encouraged to read the definitive rules for this scholarship prior to application, in particular any specific eligibility conditions and check the FAQs if you have any questions.

Application closing date

Sunday 31 March 2019 (11:55 pm Eastern Australia Standard Time)