PhD in Laboratory-Grounded Virtual Aerosol Scientist for Interpreting Ambient Organic Aerosol Mass Spectra The University of Manchester in United Kingdom

PhD opportunity: Laboratory-Grounded Virtual Aerosol Scientist for Interpreting Ambient Organic Aerosol Mass Spectra at The University of Manchester in collaboration with Peking University.

This project sits at the intersection of environmental science, chemistry, mass spectrometry, atmospheric aerosol science, and artificial intelligence. The PhD will develop an interpretable, uncertainty-aware AI framework that learns from controlled laboratory chamber experiments and then applies that knowledge to real ambient aerosol measurements. The goal is to create a “Virtual Aerosol Scientist” capable of helping researchers interpret complex organic aerosol mass spectra more quickly, reproducibly, and with calibrated confidence.

The student will work across two leading institutions. At Peking University, the project uses atmospheric chamber and mass-spectrometry facilities to study secondary organic aerosol formation, new particle formation, and black carbon ageing, generating mechanism-constrained training data and ambient measurements from polluted Beijing. At Manchester, the student will build foundation and transformer models for mass spectra and integrate them into a retrieval-augmented, literature-grounded reasoning pipeline. The framework will be tested on contrasting datasets from Beijing and the Manchester Air Quality Supersite.

The project is suitable for candidates with a background in atmospheric/environmental science, chemistry, physics, or a computational discipline, especially those interested in applying AI to real measurement data. Training spans experimental atmospheric chemistry, mass spectrometry, machine learning, and scientific software development.

Funding: competition-funded PhD; fees waived at both universities. Manchester-based students receive a UKRI-rate stipend (£21,805 for 2026/27) for up to two years, a flight allowance to Peking, and up to £5000 research training grant support. Stipend support in Peking is expected via China Link Scholarship funding, with accommodation guaranteed for successful CLS applicants.

Eligibility highlights: Manchester route is open to UK and international students; Chinese nationals should apply via Peking University. Applicants must meet the relevant degree and English-language requirements, and should be prepared to travel between the partner institutions.

Application: contact the supervisors before applying, then submit a formal application through the online portal with the project title, supervisor name, funding plan, study history, and two referees.