EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Polymers, Soft Matter and Colloids

该中心的博士培训（CDT）是在聚合物，软物质和胶体领域。这一科学领域涉及长链分子、凝胶、颗粒、糊状物和复杂流体。它对许多商业领域至关重要，包括油漆和涂料、家庭和个人护理产品、农用化学品、发动机油和润滑、增强油回收、生物医学设备和药物输送。因此，EPSRC在这个工业相关领域的大量投资将直接支持英国经济，并提高其长期竞争力，同时有助于我们的科学能力，以解决重要的技术挑战和主要的社会问题，如可持续性和能源安全。谢菲尔德聚合物中心的学者在聚合物化学、聚合物物理、胶体科学、软物质物理和聚合物工程等领域拥有丰富的研究经验。这种专业知识的广度是独一无二的，在英国任何地方都是无与伦比的。在我们之间，我们提供一流的研究设施和最先进的仪器，提供优秀的研究生培训机会。多年来，我们还开设了一个受欢迎的年度工业培训课程和三个相关的硕士课程。因此，我们现有行政人员的后勤经验和现有的教学基础设施将为运行这个新的CDT提供宝贵的支持。此外，这一先前的活动强调了我们机构对这一重要跨学科领域的深刻承诺。我们的愿景是与阿克苏诺贝尔、路博润、宝洁、氰特、Synthomer、Scott Bader、GEO、Wellstream、LBFoster、飞利浦、奥西拉、先正达、帝斯曼、亚什兰、BP和联合利华等广泛的公司密切合作，为下一代高技能的博士科学家提供高水平的技术技能、严谨的知识、出色的沟通技巧、灵活性和商业头脑。如果我们要培养创造性的问题解决者，以应对人类目前面临的许多艰巨的技术和社会挑战，这是必不可少的。我们的目标是从我们的工业合作伙伴那里获得至少200万英镑，以便在五年内支持50个CASE博士项目。EPSRC每年需要六个博士奖学金（即总共30个），这将由一个实质性的机构贡献补充三个学生（即总共15个）。这一机构承诺是对该研究领域对谢菲尔德大学持续战略重要性的认可。一个额外的学生p.a.（即总共5个）将由我们的工业合作伙伴提供的增加的案例贡献的顶部划分来资助，以组成每年10名学生的队列。EPSRC对CDT的投资是有保证的，因为我们有许多活跃的EPSRC资助（包括项目和平台资助）的大量机构投资组合，加上200万英镑的ERC资助。我们的CDT培训计划将包括以下非常独特的特点：(i)我们无与伦比的学术知识和经验的广度；（ii）博士生在入学前可选择研究项目；（iii）为期两周的聚合物科学与工程基本原理培训课程；（iv）每月举办由工业科学家主持的研讨会，让学生接触与商业有关的广泛课题；(v)在研究计划的后半阶段，学生可借调至工业界，借调六个月，以获得宝贵的工作经验，为日后从事工业及/或管理工作作好准备；（vi）由外部顾问（Jo Haigh）和我们的一个工业合作伙伴（Synthomer）领导的“商业企业”课程，以培养和鼓励每个博士群体的创业天赋；（vii）参观海外学术实验室，促进国际合作。

This Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) is in the field of Polymers, Soft Matter and Colloids. This area of science deals with long-chain molecules, gels, particles, pastes and complex fluids. It is of fundamental importance for many commercial sectors, including paints & coatings, home & personal care products, agrochemicals, engine oils & lubrication, enhanced oil recovery, biomedical devices & drug delivery. Thus substantial EPSRC investment in this industrially-relevant field will directly support the UK economy and enhance its competitiveness over the longer term, as well as contributing to our scientific capacity to address important technical challenges and major societal problems such as sustainability and energy security.Sheffield Polymer Centre academics have a wealth of research experience in the areas of polymer chemistry, polymer physics, colloid science, soft matter physics and polymer engineering. This breadth of expertise is unique and is certainly unrivalled anywhere in the UK. Between us, we offer a superb range of research facilities and state-of-the-art instrumentation that provide excellent postgraduate training opportunities. We have also run a popular annual industrial training course and three relevant taught MSc courses for many years. Thus the logistical experience of our current administrative staff and existing teaching infrastructure will provide invaluable support in running this new CDT. Moreover, this prior activity underlines our institution's deep commitment to this important interdisciplinary field.Our vision is to engage closely with a wide range of companies, e.g. AkzoNobel, Lubrizol, P & G, Cytec, Synthomer, Scott Bader, GEO, Wellstream, LBFoster, Philips, Ossila, Syngenta, DSM, Ashland, BP and Unilever, in order to provide the next generation of highly skilled PhD scientists with high-level technical skills, intellectual rigour, excellent communication skills, flexibility and business acumen. This is essential if we are to produce the creative problem-solvers that will be required to tackle the many formidable technical and societal challenges now facing mankind. Our ambition is to secure at least £2.0 million from our industrial partners in order to support fifty CASE PhD projects over five years. Six PhD studentships p.a. (i.e. thirty in total) are requested from EPSRC, which will be supplemented by a substantial institutional contribution of three studentships p.a. (i.e. fifteen in total). This institutional commitment is in recognition of the continuing strategic importance of this research area to the University of Sheffield. An additional studentship p.a. (i.e. five in total) will be funded by top-slicing the enhanced CASE contributions from our industrial partners to make up the annual cohort of ten students. EPSRC investment in this CDT is warranted given our substantial institutional portfolio of many active EPSRC grants (including Programme and Platform grants), plus a £2.0 M ERC grant.Our CDT training programme will include the following highly distinctive features: (i) our unrivalled breadth of academic knowledge and experience; (ii) a choice of research projects for our PhD students prior to their enrolment; (iii) an initial two-week training course on the basic principles of polymer science and engineering; (iv) a monthly seminar programme led by industrial scientists to expose our students to a wide range of commercially-relevant topics; (v) a six-month secondment with the industrial partner in the latter part of the research programme, which will provide our students with invaluable experience of the workplace and hence prepare them for their industrial and/or managerial careers; (vi) a 'business enterprise' course led by an external consultant (Jo Haigh) and one of our industrial partners (Synthomer) to develop and encourage entrepreneurial flair in each PhD cohort; (vii) a visit to an overseas academic laboratory to facilitate international collaboration.