The University of Strathclyde is offering a highly cross-disciplinary engineering PhD project on robotic Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE), optics, mechanics, and high-value manufacturing. Dr Javadi, the first supervisor, holds a joint appointment in the Departments of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (EEE) and Design, Manufacturing & Engineering Management (DMEM) and is an academic member of the Center for Ultrasonic Engineering (CUE) and the Sensor Enabled Automation Robotics & Control Hub (SEARCH). Dr Herrnsdorf, the second supervisor, is a senior lecturer at the Institute of Photonics (IoP). The project is supported by the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and aligns with robotic NDE and in-process inspection research, internationally led by CUE and SEARCH. An external supervisor, Dr Iman Tavakkolnia from the University of Cambridge, will provide expertise in Optical Wireless Communication (OWC).

Hosted by EEE, the PhD is part of the Strathclyde Centre for Doctoral Training (SCDT) in AI-enabled Digital High-Value Manufacturing, with strong support from IoP, DMEM, SEARCH, CUE, NMIS, and the University of Cambridge. The SCDT integrates expertise from photonics, mechanics, OWC, process metallurgy, automation, AI, data science, and industry to drive the future of intelligent manufacturing.

This project aims to develop OWC systems suited for industrial robotics and high-value manufacturing. High-speed optical wireless communication, which uses light waves instead of radio waves, offers advantages such as a license-free spectrum, ultra-high data rates, and enhanced security, enabling real-time AI-driven data collection. You will work on AI-powered OWC systems to connect robots, machines, and infrastructure, with opportunities for cross-disciplinary innovation, such as applying photoelasticity for residual stress measurement—a connection between optics and mechanics.

The robotics aspect will focus on in-process monitoring of material evolution and residual stress during high-value manufacturing. CUE has demonstrated the need for in-process inspection in robotic welding [Javadi et al., Materials & Design, 191, 2020] and Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), but this has not yet extended to processes like forging (of interest to NMIS) or broader material evaluation. This project will advance in-process material evaluation and robotic NDE, aligning with the SCDT's core research in AI-enabled manufacturing.

You should have (or be eager to learn) skills in NDE, residual stress, process modelling and verification, in-process inspection, OWC, LiFi, photoelasticity, AI, and digital manufacturing.

You will gain expertise across robotic NDE, wireless communication, high-value manufacturing, photonics, AI, and digital twinning. You will work on a multidisciplinary project supported by two faculties (Engineering and Science), three departments (EEE, DMEM, and Physics), and an extensive network of partners, including the University of Cambridge, NMIS, AFRC, CUE, SEARCH, FUSE-SCDT, FIND-CDT, Fraunhofer, RCNDE, LCA, and pureLiFi.