CSIRO PhD Top-Up Scholarship - Machine Learning Guided Autonomous Material Discovery Platform

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The Opportunity

• Are you passionate about a career in research?
• Want to access CSIRO's world-class facilities and staff?
• Apply for a CSIRO PhD Top-Up Scholarship now!

CSIRO PhD Top-Up Scholarships provide enhanced opportunities in science and engineering for outstanding graduates enrolling in a PhD at Australian tertiary institutions. Collaborating with us to complete your PhD degree will give your research the edge. We offer you access to our leading scientists, engineers and mentors, the opportunity to take your research to the next level in our first-class facilities and first-hand experience in an environment where our innovative research really is changing the world for the better.

A CSIRO PhD Top-Up Scholarship is a supplementary award, which adds to the student’s support from a principal scholarship awarded by another body, e.g. RTP scholarship.  In all respects recipients of awards will be regarded as students of the University at which they are registered, and all rules relating to degree candidature and the primary award will apply. In particular, recipients will undertake research at CSIRO as a student of the university concerned and will not be employees of CSIRO.

CSIRO Energy plays an important role in providing advanced energy research and development to assist governments, industry and the community, in the energy transition.  We are partnering with local and global companies to deliver energy solutions for a sustainable future.  For more information, please see our website at Energy.

Project Title:  Autonomous material discovery platform using machine learning-guided synthesis and characterisation.

Project Details:

Our team is developing a scalable and commercially viable photocatalyst for a standalone photoelectrochemical cell that can generate hydrogen directly from the sun. A major challenge is the time-consuming and labour-intensive process of manually analysing experimental data.  We can overcome this challenge by automating our experiments. Machine learning (ML) can provide a robust framework for correlating the known properties of materials with the properties of interest. This can be done quickly and accurately using large datasets. However, it is critical to obtain consistent data from samples produced under controlled and reproducible conditions. This can be achieved using our automated deposition and characterization setups. Our goal is to augment ML with automation to develop a self-driving laboratory for material discovery. This will allow us to rapidly and efficiently identify new and improved photocatalysts.

Contact:  For more information on the research project please contact Rowena Yew on 03 9545 2708 or email to Rowena.Yew@csiro.au.

Location:  Clayton, VIC (Preferred) but other locations considered for suitable candidates
Scholarship:  Top-Up Scholarship of $10,000 per annum, plus a learning and development budget of $5,000 over the term of the studentship
Tenure:   3 years
Reference:  94292

Eligibility:

To be eligible to apply you must have (or expect to gain):

• first or upper second-class honours or equivalent in a relevant research area;
• admission to an Australian University as a PhD student;
• hold an appropriate visa to study in Australia (if international)*
• be no further than one year (FTE) into a PhD on commencing at CSIRO
• hold a primary scholarship; for example, a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship or other primary scholarship of similar value
• not be in receipt of any other Top-Up Scholarship
• a university supervisor who is willing and able to supervise you; and
• be available to commence with CSIRO no later than 30 June 2024.

* International applicants must be residing in Australia and have the appropriate immigration approvals to allow them to take up the scholarship. 

The successful applicant will be required to obtain and provide a National Police Check or equivalent.

Applications will be assessed on:

1. Quality and relevance of student project:  The primary assessment criterion for a CSIRO PhD Top-Up Scholarship is the quality and relevance of the project being proposed.  The research must be aligned with the advertised priority research area.
2. Academic calibre of the student:  The quality of the student is also critical to the assessment of a scholarship and candidates must hold (or expect to gain) a relevant first or upper second class honours (or equivalent) degree from a recognised university.
3. Availability of appropriate university supervision:  The relevance of the university supervisor’s research background and their willingness to supervise the student in collaboration with the CSIRO supervisor should also be made clear. 

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Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to apply:

You will be required to:

1. submit a Resume/CV and Cover Letter (as one document) in the ‘Resume/CV’ field which includes:
   • the names and contact details of two previous supervisors or academic/professional referees; and
   • a one-page proposal stating how your research interests align with the project aims.
2. upload your academic results in the ‘Cover Letter’ field.

If you experience difficulties applying online call 1300 984 220 and someone will be able to assist you. Outside business hours please email: careers.online@csiro.au.

Applications Close

1 November 2023, 11:00pm AEDT