PhD scholarship opportunity in Materials Science and Engineering NOₓ production by plasma bubble reactor

Job No.:697669

Faculty/Portfolio:Faculty of Engineering

Location: CSIRO Clayton Victoria

Employment Type: Full-time

Duration: 4-years

Remuneration: $48071 per annum (2026 rate)

The Opportunities

The project is under the CSIROs Industry PhD (iPhD) Program that brings together an industry partner a university (Monash University for this project) and CSIRO to co-develop a four-year industry-focussed PhD project. You will receive a four-year scholarship package of $48071 annually (2026 rate) if successful. To be eligible you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident. Please see other eligibility requirements and other details at the following link.

current project is titled NOₓ production by plasma bubble reactor. This project explores a plasma bubble reactor where tiny plasmafilledbubbles are injected into water to create nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) directly from the air. Because the bubbles are sosmall they provide a large contact area making the process highly efficient at room temperature and without anyfossil fuels.

NOₓ is a key building block for producing green ammonia:a clean fuel and essentialfertiliser. Traditional methods for ammonia production are energyintensive and is modular renewablepowered and suitable for decentralised applications opening doors to sustainableagriculture and future cleanenergy systems.

Thestudentwill gain handson experience with plasma science reactor design chemicalanalysis and renewableenergy opportunity to contribute to realworld climate solutions whiledeveloping valuable skills for careers in clean energy environmental engineering and advanced manufacturing.

Candidate requirements

The student must:

1. Be an Australian citizen or Permanent Resident or a New Zealand citizen.
2. Meet participating university PhD admission requirements.
3. Meet university English language requirements.
4. Not have previously completed a PhD.
5. Be able to commence the Program in the year of the offer.
6. Enrol as a full-time PhD student. Part-time arrangements may be considered if approved by the supervisory team and in accordance with university policy.
7. Be prepared to be located at the project location(s) that the host university has approved and if required comply with the host universitys external enrolment procedures.
8. Be prepared to undergo onboarding to CSIRO which will include passing mandatory government background checks (allow for between 4 to 8 weeks) and complete any other CSIRO requirements.

Applications

1. Applicants are required to submit an admission-only application via my-app portal following the instructions detailed on the universitys webpage or by contacting the university supervisor directly via email.
2. The application is assessed by the supervisory team and shortlisted applicants are interviewed.
3. The supervisory team nominates a preferred applicant and informs iPhD office and the Universitys GRS (or equivalent).

Enquiries:

Professor Aijun Huang (Monash University:

Dr Yunxia Yang (CSIRO):

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