QM Principal Studentship: Development of High-Power Millimetre-Wave Magnetron for Nuclear Fusion Power Generation

The extensive global consumption of fossil fuels has created severe climate change challenges, driving an urgent need for clean and sustainable energy sources. Nuclear fusion, often regarded as the ultimate energy solution, holds tremendous promise due to abundant fuel supply, high energy generation capacity, and clean operation free of greenhouse gas emissions. To enable nuclear fusion, fuel plasma needs to be heated to 100 million degrees, which requires high-power millimetre-wave sources. Using magnetrons as microwave sources offers numerous advantages, including compactness, high efficiency, simple assembly, and low cost. Therefore, developing suitable magnetrons could significantly accelerate realisation and commercial scaling of fusion power. This project aims to develop compact and cost-effective high-power magnetrons suitable for plasma heating in nuclear fusion facilities, utilising a novel magnetron design with extended interaction space for enhanced power.

Key objectives:

1. Develop a compact, low-cost, high-power, high-efficiency magnetron with novel extended interaction space.
2. Test the magnetrons in plasma heating applications to validate their capabilities in nuclear fusion power generation.
3. Advance commercialisation of fusion power by overcoming engineering and economic obstacles.

For more information about the project, please contact Dr Jin Zhang (jin.zhang@qmul.ac.uk).

Studentship

The PhD student will be supported by a QM Principal Studentship. They will receive tuition fees and a London stipend at UKRI rates (currently in 2024/25 of £21,237 per year, to be confirmed for 2025/26) annually during the PhD period, which can span for 3 years.

How to apply

Queen Mary is interested in developing the next generation of outstanding researchers and decided to invest in specific research areas. 

Applicants should work with their prospective supervisor and submit their application following the instructions at: http://eecs.qmul.ac.uk/phd/how-to-apply/  

The application should include the following:

• CV (max 2 pages)
• Cover letter (max 4,500 characters) stating clearly in the first page whether you are eligible for a scholarship as a UK resident (https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/guidance-on-epsrc-studentships/eligibility)
• Research proposal (max 500 words)
• 2 References
• Certificate of English Language (for students whose first language is not English)
• Other Certificates

Please note that to qualify as a home student for the purpose of the scholarships, a student must have no restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship. For more information please see: (https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/guidance-on-epsrc-studentships/eligibility) 

Application Deadline

The deadline for applications is the 31 December 2024.

For general enquiries contact Mrs Melissa Yeo at m.yeo@qmul.ac.uk (administrative enquiries) or Dr Arkaitz Zubiaga at a.zubiaga@qmul.ac.uk (academic enquiries) with the subject “EECS 2025 PhD scholarships enquiry”.

For specific enquiries contact Dr Jin Zhang- jin.zhang@qmul.ac.uk