The Academy joint PhD research projects are well defined and developed by a collaborative team of researchers at UQ and IITD. Selected PhD students working on a project will be supervised by a joint supervision team of UQ and IITD academics.

To apply, select a ’Position Open’ project. You can nominate up to two projects in your EOI form.

UQ–IITD 391
Position Open Note: i-students must have own scholarship to apply (CSIR, UCG-NET, etc)
Australian studentsIndian and international studentsIndian and international students with a fellowship

Functional Mesoporous Inorganic Nanomaterials for Electrocatalytic Applications

This project aims to develop new template-based approaches for creating novel functional mesoporous transition-metal based materials with controlled composition, morphology, and porosity. They will be used to engineer high-performance catalysts for H2 production via electrochemical water splitting.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Yusuf Kaneti

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN)
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Nirat Ray

Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Additional Supervisor

Professor Yusuke Yamauchi

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN)
Engineering Science and Mathematics Clean energy and sustainability
UQ–IITD 390
Position Open
Australian studentsIndian and international students

Equitable policies for a just transition to electric vehicle fleets: Exploring market mechanisms and revenue-based targets for full electrification of ride-hailing and delivery services in Delhi by 2030

Delhi needs affordable, equitable policies to meet 2030 all-electric rideshare/delivery target. This project explores market mechanisms and revenue distance goals that could ease the EV transition for fleets. It assesses feasibility and effectiveness to shape a just transition.

UQ Supervisor

Professor Mark Hickman

School of Civil Engineering
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Lokesh Kalahasthi

Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre (TRIP Centre)
Additional Supervisor

Dr Kai Li Lim

UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation
Humanities Social Sciences and Education Clean energy and sustainability Societal transformations and livelihoods
UQ–IITD 389
Position Open
Indian and international students

Heat Input Optimisation for Improved Microstructural and Mechanical Properties during Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

Heat input is key to improving the quality of the wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) part. It can be controlled by the advanced current waveforms. This project will develop strategies to improve the quality of printed parts using advanced waveforms followed by material characterisation.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Michael Bermingham

School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Abhishek Das

Innovative Joining and Advanced Manufacturing (iJAM)
Additional Supervisor

Dr Prithviraj Mukhopadhyay

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Advanced materials and manufacturing
UQ–IITD 388
Position Open
Indian and international students

Securing the operation of power systems with high penetration of renewable energy generation.

Design of control interventions in power grids with high-proportion of renewable energy generations, by coordinating grid-following and grid-forming converters. It will also suggest operational planning strategies for system operators, to stabilise such power systems during stressed conditions.

UQ Supervisor

Professor Tapan Saha

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
IITD Supervisor

Professor Nilanjan Senroy

Department of Electrical Engineering
Engineering Clean energy and sustainability
UQ–IITD 387
Position Open Note: i-students must have own scholarship to apply (CSIR, UCG-NET, etc)
Australian studentsIndian and international studentsIndian and international students with a fellowship

Exploring the Nexus of Invasive Alien Species and Human Health through Citizen Science Approaches

Invasive alien species (IAS) impact human health by disrupting urban biodiversity. Using citizen science, we will model IAS's effects on health, analysing their spread and interactions with native species. The study will involve citizen science data, health surveys, and spatial model analyses.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Darsy Darssan

School of Public Health
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Rajarshi Dasgupta

School of Public Policy
Medicine Health and Behavioural Sciences Humanities Social Sciences and Education IT and Computer Science Clean energy and sustainability Societal transformations and livelihoods Healthcare and biotechnology
UQ–IITD 386
Position Open note: i-students must have own scholarship to apply (CSIR, UCG-NET, etc)
Australian studentsIndian and international studentsIndian and international students with a fellowship

Predictive maintenance of HVAC systems of commercial buildings for enhanced reliability and improved energy efficiency

This project aims to develop a predictive maintenance system for the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems in commercial buildings. The goal is to enhance the reliability of HVAC systems and improve energy efficiency through the application of advanced AI and ML techniques.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Rahul Sharma

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
IITD Supervisor

Associate Professor Dibakar Rakshit

Centre for Energy Studies
Additional Supervisor

Dr Wayes Tushar

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Engineering Clean energy and sustainability
UQ–IITD 385
Position Open
Indian and international students

Development of sub-grid scale turbulent combustion closure models for hydrogen-based combustion

Transitioning to green, hydrogen-based power needs accurate tools for simulating turbulent combustion. Wide range of interacting length and time scales of turbulence, chemistry and diffusion require closure models for small scales. These will be developed using full-scale-resolving numerical studies

UQ Supervisor

Dr Alexander Klimenko

School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Additional Supervisor

Dr Yuanshen Lu

School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Engineering Science and Mathematics Clean energy and sustainability
UQ–IITD 384
Position filled
Kavya Bhatt

Combined impact of heat stress and air pollution on non-communicable disease burden of India in the global warming era

While impacts of air pollution and heat stress on the non-communicable disease burden are established, evidence from the LMICs with indigenous health data are quite limited and most importantly, their combined impact is hardly documented. This project aims to fill this knowledge gap with a focus on ...

UQ Supervisor

Associate professor Nicholas Osborne

School of Public Health
IITD Supervisor

Professor Sagnik Dey

Centre for Atmospheric Sciences
Engineering Medicine Health and Behavioural Sciences IT and Computer Science Science and Mathematics
UQ–IITD 383
Position filled
Kishan

AI/ML Framework for Mixed-integer Nonlinear Optimization

This project aims to develop a learning based framework that improves the performance of mixed-integer nonlinear optimization algorithms and will involve theoretical and computational aspects of discrete and continuous optimization, AI/ML techniques (RL, neural networks) and their interplay.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Fred Roosta-Khorasani

School of Mathematics and Physics
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Prashant Palkar

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Additional Supervisor

Assistant professor Amber Srivastava

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Medicine Health and Behavioural Sciences IT and Computer Science Science and Mathematics
UQ–IITD 382
Position Closed

High-resolution crystallographic studies on mechanically flexible crystals

Mechanically flexible molecular crystals have implications in flexible electronics, molecular ferroelectrics and piezoelectric materials. This project will employ high-resolution crystallography and quantum chemical methods to understand the mechanistic aspects of such materials.

UQ Supervisor

Professor Jack Clegg

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Sajesh Thomas

Department of Chemistry
Science and Mathematics