Big Day for First Nanotechnology Doctoral Students

The Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials (BCFN) has officially opened its doors. The four-year PhD programme welcomed its first cohort of 10 students yesterday as they begin an intensive first year of graduate training.

The BCFN was awarded £6.8 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to train at least 10 students a year for five years, and is one of only three Nanoscience Doctoral Training Centres in the UK.

This interdisciplinary training draws heavily on the research strengths of Physics and Chemistry, with strong links to the ACCIS Doctoral Training Centre in the Faculty of Engineering. The students will spend their first year based in the Nanoscience and Quantum Information building before settling into PhD projects across the University.

The BCFN Director, Dr Terry McMaster, said:

“This is a fantastic day for the nanoscience community in Bristol. The Management Team from Physics and Chemistry has put in a great deal of hard work to set up a truly innovative graduate programme, and we are determined that this centre will become a benchmark for PhD training in the UK and beyond. Strong relationships with industry and other leading international nanoscience centres will underpin its ongoing development”.