X-ray science research receives grant funding

Research into X-ray science at Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) has been given a boost thanks to the award of an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate grant.

ORC is a partner in the EXTATIC programme that brings together leading European universities in the X-ray field to offer PhD level training in extreme ultraviolet and X-ray science.

The Erasmus Mundus award will see £3.6m of funding injected into the consortium over the next five years.

Southampton’s ORC has been awarded about £300,000 from the grant over the five years that will fund at least five PhD studentships working in ultrafast soft X-ray science.

Each student will work on a project shared between two institutions and will spend at least six months of their PhD at the partner organisation.

Every year the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate PhD students will also gather together for a summer school in X-ray science to exchange ideas and best practice and achieve a real sense of coherence across the project.

Principal Investigator Dr Bill Brocklesby, a Reader at the ORC, said: 
“This grant is a fantastic opportunity for us to work with other leading institutions in the field of X-ray science across Europe to develop coherent high-level training across a whole range of extreme ultraviolet and X-ray science, with applications including X-ray microscopes, next generation chip fabrication, and therapeutic medicine â€?

Southampton’s first funded PhD student is Johannes Hauck from the University of Aachen, in Germany. He will work jointly with the German university on imaging in the extreme ultraviolet using a new technique for high-resolution X-ray microscopy called coherent diffractive imaging.

Erasmus Mundus is a European Commission initiative that aims to enhance quality in higher education through scholarships and academic co-operation between Europe and the rest of the world.

Find out more about the work of our Ultrafast X-ray research group.

Find out more about the EXTACTIC programme