Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
The DPhil student will investigate how the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be supported by more sustainable and circular hardware and infrastructure. While existing research on the environmental impacts of AI has largely focused on energy use and carbon emissions, much less is understood about the growing demand for hardware, critical raw materials, and the opportunities to reduce these impacts through circular economy strategies.
The student will develop new approaches to connect AI computational performance with the physical hardware and materials required to deliver it. They will examine how alternative pathways for UK AI and data centre development could affect demand for critical and secondary raw materials, while considering how strategies such as lifetime extension, reuse, repair, upgrading and remanufacture could reduce environmental impacts and dependence on critical raw materials.
The research will develop scenarios for how future growth in UK AI computing could translate into demand for physical infrastructure, including processors, accelerators, memory, storage and networking equipment. The student will map these hardware requirements to their underlying materials, identifying critical material dependencies and potential supply-chain hotspots. They will then investigate how different hardware lifetimes and circular economy strategies could change future material requirements while maintaining computational performance.
The DPhil student will join the Circular Economy and Sustainability Lab and contribute to the Circular Electricals and Electronics Project, which seeks to enable a low-carbon, Circular Economy for Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
Eligibility
This studentship is funded through the Department of Engineering Science and is open to Home and overseas students (full award – fees plus stipend).
Award Value
Course fees are covered for Home and overseas students. The stipend (tax-free maintenance grant) is c. £21,805 p.a. for the first year, and at least this amount for a further two and a half years.
Candidate Requirements
Prospective candidates will be judged according to how well they meet the following criteria:
- A first class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent) in Engineering or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated skills and experience in quantitative modelling and analysis of engineering, material, or technology systems.
- Excellent English written and spoken communication skills
The following skills and experience are desirable but not essential:
- Experience in Material Flow Analysis, Life Cycle Assessment or related modelling techniques
- Experience with circular economy strategies, sustainable engineering, product design or design for disassembly.
- Knowledge of computing hardware, electronics, data centres or AI infrastructure.
- Experience contributing to academic research projects
- Engaging and collaborating with industry partners
- Confidence presenting research findings to relevant stakeholders
- Enthusiasm to work on Circular Economy solutions
Application Procedure
Informal enquiries are encouraged and should be addressed to Prof Lucia Corsini (lucia.corsini@eng.ox.ac.uk).
Candidates must submit a graduate application form and are expected to meet the graduate admissions criteria. Details are available on the course page of the University website.
Please quote 27ENGEL_LC in all correspondence and in your graduate application.
Application deadline: noon on 2 December 2026 (In line with the University admissions deadline set by the University)
Start date: October 2027