About the Project
Vacancy information
The Department of Chemical Engineering at University College London (UCL) is one of the leading departments in the UK, with an international reputation for research excellence and impact. Research in the department spans molecular-scale phenomena through to device and process systems engineering, with a strong focus on addressing global challenges in health, sustainability, and advanced technologies.
The Department is seeking a highly motivated PhD student to work on the development of next-generation materials and devices for water harvesting from air. The project will focus on the design and testing of advanced sorbent materials and structured devices capable of capturing water vapour from ambient air, with the aim of enabling practical, energy-efficient atmospheric water harvesting technologies.
The studentship is fully funded for 4 years, starting in October 2026, or later.
Studentship description
Access to clean freshwater is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century, affecting billions of people worldwide. With climate change intensifying arid conditions across vast regions, there is a growing need for decentralized, low-energy technologies capable of producing water independently of rivers, lakes, or infrastructure. The atmosphere holds an estimated 13,000 trillion litres of water at any given time, a resource available everywhere and accessible without large-scale civil engineering.
Recent advances in porous materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), porous polymers, and hybrid sorbent systems, have demonstrated unprecedented water uptake capacities and regeneration efficiencies, creating new opportunities for sustainable water production. The discovery of MOFs earned Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, with Yaghi’s own research including the use of these materials to harvest water from air. Yet a fundamental gap remains between material-level performance and device-level water production, that this project aims to close.
This PhD project will investigate new water-adsorbing materials, together with the design, fabrication, and testing of renewables integrated device concepts for atmospheric water harvesting. The research will combine materials synthesis and characterization with transport phenomena, heat and mass transfer analysis, modelling, device engineering, and performance testing under realistic operating conditions.
The student will be supervised by Dr Marco Gigantino and Dr Peyman Z. Moghadam (second supervisor).
Person specification
We welcome applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, including Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics or Applied Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science as well as other related interdisciplinary STEM fields. The ideal candidate will be motivated by interdisciplinary research at the interface of materials discovery, transport phenomena, and device engineering. Prior experience in areas such as porous materials, thermal engineering, or prototype fabrication and testing is welcome but not essential. We are looking for a candidate who is curious, self-driven, and motivated by the prospect of developing technologies with direct global impact.
Eligibility
Applicants must hold (or be expected to obtain) a first-class degree at the MEng or MSc level, or an equivalent qualification.
How to apply
Applications should be submitted through:
Funds are only available to cover UK-equivalent fees. Overseas students may apply, provided they can independently cover the difference between UK and overseas tuition fees.
Please nominate Dr Marco Gigantino as supervisor and include a statement of interest.
For informal enquiries please contact Dr Marco Gigantino at: marco.gigantino@ucl.ac.uk
For further information on the MPhil/PhD course as well as the recruitment and selection process, please click on the link below:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/chemical-engineering/study/mphilphd
Funding Notes
Stipend: c. £23,466 per annum + UK fees
Duration of Studentship: 4 years
Start date: May or October 2026
