Tissue Mechanics Laboratory

2014 Fees-only PhD scholarship available at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh/UK

Two PhD tuition-waivers (currently £14,080 p.a.) are available at School of Engineering and Physical Sciences in Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.  

Research Area:

Dr. Chen’s research interests mainly span from computational mechanics and structural optimization to their applications in biomedical engineering such as tissue scaffolds, vascular stents, dental implants and drug delivery systems, particularly in optimally designing the microstructures of biomedical devices in order to achieve desired mechanical and biochemical needs. His research is highly interdisciplinary and at the interface of engineering, materials science and biomedicine.

•    Design of microstructural porous materials for biomedical engineering

•    Solid and fluidic characterizations for porous microstructures of cellular materials

•    Release mechanism and microstructural modeling/design of biodegradable systems

•    Properties of metamaterials and their design optimization in engineering materials

•    Structural optimization: size, shape and topology

•    Mechanobiology; Cell mechanics; Computational tissue engineering

PhD projects can be within the topics listed above, or based on the candidates’ personal interest after discussion.

Specific Requirements:
The ideal candidates should be highly-motivated and have clear vision in one of the research fields interested. Competent background in engineering and mathematics is required. In addition, prior experience in programming in one or more of the following languages is a plus: FORTRAN, Matlab, Python, C++, APDL etc. A first/master (or nearly-finished) degree in mechanical engineering/engineering mechanics, material science, biomedical engineering or other related fields is desired.

Application Procedure:

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr. Y Chen (y dot chen@hw.ac.uk), with 1) a short statement (for me to know you briefly); 2) a CV with publications (if any) and research experience and 3) any other documents if relevant (Files in PDF format are preferred).

Yuhang Chen © 2012