EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in the Advanced Characterisation of Materials

开发新材料和基于这些材料的新设备/产品对我们社会的经济发展至关重要。开发新材料的一个关键方面是分析材料并确定其性能的能力。事实上，材料学科哲学的核心是材料的微观结构和性能之间的关系。其核心思想是通过加工可以控制微观结构，从而控制性能。材料表征告诉我们如何成功地改变微观结构，因此在工艺开发中至关重要。当基于它们的材料或设备发生故障时，它还告诉我们发生了什么问题，即它用于故障排除。现在有大量的先进材料表征技术，要知道最好的技术或技术组合来回答特定的研究问题是非常具有挑战性的。因此，有必要培训研究科学家，他们不仅精通某些技术的使用，而且对可能使用的大量技术有更广泛、深入的了解。目前，在这一领域存在技能差距，我们将通过CDT填补这一差距，该CDT将来自两所世界顶尖大学的先进材料表征专家聚集在一起。学生们也会花一些时间（至少12周）在工业或海外大学接受特定背景的培训。因此，这项研究培训计划带来的独特视野是，我们的学生将拥有超越一两种实验技术的狭隘专业知识的材料表征知识，或对许多技术的一般概述，而是切中了成为一名领先的实验主义者的核心对科学问题的本质、解决问题所需的基本原则和智力工具有着固有的理解，技术知识和工艺，以应用最适当的实验技术，以获得必要的信息和关键和分析技能，以提取解决方案，数据这一愿景将通过利用UCL和ICL提供的独特实验基础设施来实现。第一年将是一个MRes结构，整个队列接受基于实验室的实用培训，这些培训涉及现代材料表征中普遍存在的技术，如真空技术，扫描探针显微镜，光学表征技术和洁净室处理。将教授关键的分析技能，如数据处理，操作和解释，在真实的数据上进行实践，利用Imperials ToF-SIMS分析套件和UCL化学的材料建模用户界面等设施。我们将与业界合作，以产生真正的基于问题的表征案例研究，使课程的元素将建立在基于问题的学习。Mark Dowsett（沃里克大学）和Hidde Brongersma（Calipso BV）等客座教授将为培训经验作出贡献，一些外部课程将用于专家培训，例如在ISIS。传统的讲座将在数量上有限，每个子主题将导致由我们广泛的行业合作伙伴之一运行的互动问题类。在我们的CDT ACM中，一起解决课堂问题和以团队为基础的实验挑战竞争的兴奋将产生一个高度参与，批判性思维，紧密团结的学生团队。

The development of new materials and new devices / products based upon these materials is absolutely critical to the economic development of our society. One critical aspect of the development of new materials is the ability to analyse the materials and thus determine their properties. Indeed at the very heart of the philosophy of the materials discipline is the relationship between the microstructure and the properties of the materials. The core idea is that through processing one can control the microstructure and thus the properties. Materials characterisation tells us how succesful we have been at changing the microstructure and so is essential in process development. It also tells us what has gone wrong when materials or devices based upon them fail, i.e. it is used in troubleshooting. There are a vast array of advanced materials characterisation techniques available these days and it is very challenging to know the best technique or combination of techniques to use to answer specific research problems. There is a need, therefore, to train research scientists who are expert in the use of certain techniques but also have a broader in-depth understanding of the plethora of techniques that potentially could be used. At the moment there is a skills gap in this area and we will plug that gap with this CDT in advanced characterisation of materials that brings together experts in advanced materials characterisation from two of the worlds top universities. The students will also spend some time (at least 12 weeks) in industry or at an overseas univeristy receiving context specific training.The unique vision brought by this research training programme, therefore, is that our students will have a knowledge of materials characterisation that goes beyond narrow expertise in one or two experimental techniques, or a general overview of many, and instead cuts to the heart of what it means to be a leading experimentalist; with an inherent understanding of the nature of a scientific problem, the fundamental principles and intellectual tools required to address the problem, the technical knowledge and craft to apply the most appropriate experimental technique to obtain the necessary information and the critical and analytical skill to extract the solution from the data. The vision will be realised by exploiting the unique experimental infrastructure provided by UCL and ICL. The first year will be an MRes structure with the entire cohort receiving laboratory based practical training in techniques ubiquitous to modern day materials characterisation such as vacuum technology, scanning probe microscopy, optical characterisation techniques and clean-room processing. Key analytical skills will be taught such as data handling, manipulation and interpretation, practiced on real data, exploiting facilities such as Imperials ToF-SIMS analysis suite and UCL chemistry's material modelling user interface. We will engage with industry to generate genuine problem-based characterisation case studies so that elements of the course will be founded on problem based learning. Visiting professors such as Mark Dowsett (Warwick University) and Hidde Brongersma(Calipso BV) will contribute to the training experience and some external courses will be used for specialist training, for example at ISIS. Traditional lectures will be limited in number with every sub-topic leading into an interactive problem class run by one of our extensive number of industry partners. In our CDT ACM the thrill of solving class problems together and of competing in team-based experimental challenges will produce a highly engaged, critically minded, close-knit team of students.