A fully-funded four-year PhD position in my group at the University of Warwick. The project is entitled “Advanced Monte Carlo methods for glassy dynamics and complex materials” and the start date is October 2026.
Applications are invited for an open PhD position in Dr Michael Faulkner’s group at the University of Warwick, starting in October 2026. This is a fully-funded four-year PhD position based in our HetSys Centre for Doctoral Training.
The project and group are based in the Warwick Centre for Predictive Modelling in the School of Engineering, with Prof. Gabriele Sosso (Warwick Chemistry) and Prof. Gareth Roberts (Warwick Statistics) collaborating as secondary supervisors — leading experts in computational chemistry and Bayesian data science/machine learning, respectively.
Title:
Advanced Monte Carlo methods for glassy dynamics and complex materials
Project outline:
Glasses are materials that combine macroscopic solid behaviour with amorphous liquid-like structure. These mysterious signature properties are ubiquitous across science and engineering, with examples ranging from optical fibres to novel formulations of pharmaceutical drugs and beyond.
Understanding these materials experimentally is, however, a real challenge due to very long relaxation timescales that preclude many experimental measurements. Modelling is therefore paramount, but traditional simulations are plagued by the same slow relaxational dynamics.
Through collaboration across physics, statistics, chemistry and engineering, this project will develop state-of-the-art simulation algorithms to circumvent the slow dynamics leading to high-quality modelling of currently inaccessible experimental quantities.
Project aims:
Event-chain Monte Carlo provides an opportunity to circumvent the slow dynamics. This rejection-free Monte Carlo algorithm advances particles along ballistic-style trajectories, without the constraints of physical dynamics. This leads to significant freedom when choosing the particle dynamics, with certain choices recently shown to circumvent analogous challenges in a foundational model. In addition, the concept of teleportation portals instantaneously translates particles through one other. This project will develop and unify the two techniques for glasses, leading to rapid particle rearrangement/relaxation — central to accessing the key experimental quantities. We also aim to develop AI frameworks to characterise the power of the technique.
Candidates:
The ideal candidate should have a quantitative background and a keen interest in the physical sciences, statistical sciences and/or scientific computing. Applicants are expected to hold the equivalent of a 1st or high 2:1 in an undergraduate degree in the physical sciences, mathematics, statistics/statistical science, computer science, engineering or similar. We do not accept applications from existing PhD holders.
If you are an overseas candidate, please check that you hold the equivalent grades before applying (see the link below).
Informal enquiries should be sent to michael.faulkner@warwick.ac.uk. For further details check:
Project webpage: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/hetsys/themes/projects2026/2026-003a/
Formal application webpage: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/hetsys/apply/howtoapply/
Warwick overseas-equivalent grades: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/international/admissions/entry-requirements/
Dr Michael Faulkner (Warwick Engineering): https://github.com/michaelfaulkner
Prof. Gabriele Sosso (Warwick Chemistry): https://sossogroup.uk
Prof. Gareth Roberts (Warwick Statistics): https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/statistics/staff/academic-research/roberts/
HetSys: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/hetsys/
HetSys training: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/hetsys/apply/training/
GEFAM 