PhD Studentships for UK Students, Development of New Techniques in Underwater Digital Holography and its Application in Environmental Studies, UK

August 28, 2010

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PhD Studentships, Development of New Techniques in Underwater Digital Holography and it Application in Environmental Studies, Research, UK

Job Description: Underwater holography has been pursued in the School of Engineering for over 20 years and we are pioneers and major global players in this field. Two subsea “holo-cameras” have been developed: one based on classical photo-holography and the other utilising digital holography. Both have been deployed subsea for imaging and analysis of plankton with great effect. The ultimate goal of our proposed new work is to design and develop a radically new interactive holo-camera (i-HoloCam) for deep subsea deployment (to 12,000 m) which will advance the current eHoloCam camera beyond the state-of-the-art. i-HoloCam will be targeted on a study of the dynamics of zooplankton behaviour; and the analysis of sediment transport in river estuaries.

The PhD student will undertake several key aspects in the development of this new camera, including:

1. Investigation and implementation of the use of large angle off-axis reference beam recording.

One of the disadvantages of current digital holo-cameras recording is their inability to record large opaque or dense aggregates of particles. Limitations in the resolution of current photo-sensors have limited digital holography to the use of in-line recording geometries and investigation of largely transparent scenes. The student should explore and evaluate novel optical configurations, in conjunction with current CCD and CMOS sensors to overcome these restrictions. This would be a breakthrough which would open-up a whole new field of applications.

2. Investigation of methods of increasing the recording volume of the current holo-camera.

Marine zoologists have claimed that the limited sampling volume of current holo-cameras reduces the precision of measurements such as zooplankton species distribution and also limits its use in particle tracking. eHoloCam has a 40 cm3 recording volume over a sensor area of 1 cm x 0.7 cm, whereas volumes up to 1 m3 over a larger cross-section are desirable. An increase in sampling volume/area could be realised by replacing the current sensor with a larger single element or by an array of multiple tiled elements. Larger sensor areas such as this are also beneficial when studying sediment transport dynamics to provide vertical trajectories of sediment particles. Increased sampling could also be achieved by geometrical configurations. This would also represent a step-change in performance of digital holography.

Application Procedure

Formal applications can be completed online: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply. You should apply for MSc with a view to transfer to PhD in Engineering, to ensure that your application is passed to the correct College for processing. Please note, you should apply at least 4 days before the deadline to allow us to contact you for further information, if required. All applications received up to, and including the closing date, will be processed.

Informal academic enquiries should be directed to Dr T Thevar (t.thevar@abdn.ac.uk), with a copy of your current CV. All general enquiries should be directed to the Graduate School Admissions Unit.

Application Deadline: 15 September 2010

For further Scholarship information:

Scholarship Tags: digital, holography, PhD, research, studentships, Underwater