PhD in Sustainability Engineering

The construction sector remains one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions and resource consumption, and this theme investigates how digital tools can support more sustainable design, construction and material choices. Particular emphasis is placed on automated life cycle assessment and embodied carbon tracking, allowing the environmental impact of infrastructure to be quantified more accurately and efficiently. Urban heat island mitigation and microclimate modelling form another key area, exploring how the built environment influences local temperature and comfort as climate conditions change. Generative material science is also central to this theme, using computational methods to discover and design lower carbon, higher performance construction materials. Finally, this theme addresses the circular economy through intelligent waste sorting and the design of infrastructure that supports material reuse and recycling. Research within this theme suits candidates interested in combining civil engineering with data science, environmental modelling and materials engineering to address global sustainability challenges.

<h3 dir="ltr">Detailed description</h3> <p dir="ltr">The construction and infrastructure sector is responsible for a substantial share of global carbon emissions, resource extraction and waste generation, making sustainability one of the most pressing challenges facing civil engineering. This research theme investigates how computational and data driven methods can support more sustainable decision making across the lifecycle of infrastructure assets, from material selection and design through to construction, operation and eventual demolition. A key focus is the automation of life cycle assessment and embodied carbon tracking, using digital tools to quantify environmental impacts more rapidly and accurately than traditional manual approaches, enabling designers to compare options and identify lower carbon solutions earlier in the design process.</p> <p dir="ltr">This theme also explores how the built environment interacts with local climate, particularly through urban heat island effects, where dense construction and impermeable surfaces increase local temperatures and affect human comfort and energy demand. Microclimate modelling allows these effects to be simulated and mitigated through informed design choices, such as material selection, vegetation and urban layout. Generative material science forms a further strand of this theme, applying computational design and optimisation methods to discover new construction materials that reduce embodied carbon while maintaining structural performance. Finally, this theme addresses the transition towards a circular economy in construction, investigating how intelligent sorting technologies and infrastructure design can support the reuse, recycling and recovery of materials, reducing reliance on virgin resources and minimising construction and demolition waste.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Why this research is important</h3> <p dir="ltr">The built environment is a major driver of global carbon emissions, resource depletion and waste, and the pressure to decarbonise construction is intensifying as climate targets become more urgent. Traditional approaches to sustainability assessment are often slow, manual and applied too late in the design process to meaningfully influence outcomes. Automating life cycle assessment and embodied carbon tracking allows sustainability to be embedded into decision making from the earliest design stages, where the greatest impact can be achieved. As urban areas continue to grow and climates change, understanding and mitigating urban heat effects is increasingly important for public health, energy demand and infrastructure resilience. Generative material science offers the potential to unlock new low carbon materials that would be difficult to discover through conventional methods, while a circular economy approach to construction waste reduces environmental impact and supports more resource efficient infrastructure delivery. Together, these areas of research are essential for achieving a construction sector that meets growing infrastructure demand within planetary boundaries.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Example PhD research topics</h3> <ul dir="ltr"> <li>Automated life cycle assessment tools for infrastructure design</li> <li>Machine learning for embodied carbon prediction in construction</li> <li>Microclimate modelling of urban heat island effects</li> <li>Design strategies for climate resilient urban environments</li> <li>Generative design of low carbon construction materials</li> <li>Computational discovery of alternative and recycled construction materials</li> <li>Intelligent sorting technologies for construction and demolition waste</li> <li>Circular economy infrastructure design for material reuse and recovery</li> </ul> <h3 dir="ltr">Methods and techniques</h3> <ul dir="ltr"> <li>Life cycle assessment and embodied carbon modelling</li> <li>Machine learning and generative design algorithms</li> <li>Microclimate and building energy simulation</li> <li>Computer vision for automated material sorting</li> <li>Materials informatics and computational materials design</li> <li>Optimisation algorithms for sustainable design</li> <li>Big data analytics for environmental impact assessment</li> <li>Numerical modelling of urban thermal environments</li> </ul> <h3 dir="ltr">Suitable academic backgrounds</h3> <p dir="ltr">Suitable candidates will hold an academic background in civil engineering, environmental engineering, materials science, sustainability, computer science, data science, applied mathematics or a closely related engineering or scientific discipline.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">FAQ</h3> <ol dir="ltr"> <li>Can I propose my own PhD topic? Yes, the themes above are a guide only.</li> <li>Can I bring my own funding? Yes, I welcome applicants who are funded through government scholarships, employers or self funding.</li> <li>Do I need funding before contacting you? You should have at least identified your planned funder and commenced your application.</li> <li>Can I study interdisciplinary topics? Yes. Many of my current research interests combine multiple disciplines.</li> <li>When can I start? Start dates are in spring and autumn. Full details dates are available elsewhere on the University website.</li> </ol> <h3 dir="ltr">Join an International Research Group</h3> <p dir="ltr">My research group includes PhD students and researchers from a range of countries working across Artificial Intelligence, climate resilience, satellite monitoring, transport engineering and geotechnical engineering. Although every student develops their own specialist project, many topics overlap, creating opportunities to exchange ideas, collaborate and learn from one another. You will also become part of the wider Engineering postgraduate research community at the University of Leeds.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong data-index-in-node="0" data-path-to-node="14">Useful links</strong></p> <ul data-path-to-node="15"> <li> <p data-path-to-node="15,0,0"><a href="https://eps.leeds.ac.uk/civil-engineering/staff/1204/prof-david-p-connolly">University Profile</a></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="15,1,0"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdavidconnolly/">LinkedIn</a></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="15,2,0"><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jzkpu9IAAAAJ&hl=en">Google Scholar</a></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="15,3,0"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Connolly-7">ResearchGate</a></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="15,4,0"><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3950-8704">ORCID</a></p> </li> <li> <p data-path-to-node="15,5,0"><a href="https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=35098220800">Scopus</a></p> </li> </ul>

<p>To apply for this project you will need to make a formal application for research degree study through the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">University's website</a>. You will need to create a login ID with a username and PIN. </p> <p>•    For <strong>‘Appli</strong><strong>cation type’</strong> please select <strong>‘Research Degrees – Research Postgraduate’</strong>. <br /> •    The <strong>admission year</strong> for this project is <strong>2027/28 Academic Year</strong>. <br /> •    You will need to select your <strong>‘Planned Course of Study’</strong> from a drop-down menu. For this project, scroll down and select ‘<strong>PhD Civil Engineering FT</strong>’. <br /> •    The <strong>project start date</strong> for this project is<strong> </strong>from<strong> 1 October 2027</strong>, please use this as your <strong>Proposed Start Date of Research</strong>. <br /> •    Please state clearly in the research information section that the research degree you wish to be considered for is <strong>PhD in Sustainability Engineering</strong> as well as <a href="https://eps.leeds.ac.uk/civil-engineering/staff/1204/dr-david-p-connolly">Professor David Connolly</a><strong> </strong>as your proposed supervisor.</p> <p>We will assess applications continuously as we receive them. We welcome and strongly encourage any potential applicants to contact the supervisor(s) for an informal discussion, prior to applying, and recommend submitting your application early. </p> <p><strong>Please note that you must provide the following documents in support of your application at the point you submit your application:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Full transcripts of all degree study or if in final year of study, full transcripts to date including grading scheme</li> <li>CV</li> <li>A personal statement outlining your interest in the project, why you have chosen it and how your skills map onto the requirements of the project.</li> </ul> <p>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</p> <p><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</em></p>

Applicants to research degree programmes should normally have at least a first class or an upper second class British Bachelors Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate discipline. The criteria for entry for some research degrees may be higher, for example, several faculties, also require a Masters degree. Applicants are advised to check with the relevant School prior to making an application. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the School or Graduate School prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate research study is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. Some schools and faculties have a higher requirement.

<p>This is a non funded PhD project. Applicants are expected to be self funded or to secure external funding.</p> <p>You can find out more about our Funding Opportunities on our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/">Postgraduate Research Opportunities</a> website.</p> <p><strong>Important</strong>: Please note that all costs associated with your arrival at Leeds (visa, Immigration Health Surcharge, flights etc) would have to be met by yourself, or you will need to find an alternative funding source.</p> <p>Please refer to the <a href="https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/">UKCISA</a> website for information regarding Fee Status for Non-UK Nationals.</p>

<p>For further information about your application, please contact PGR Admissions by email to <a href="mailto:phd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk">phd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk</a></p> <p>For further information about this project, please contact Professor David Connolly by email to <a href="mailto:D.Connolly@leeds.ac.uk">D.Connolly@leeds.ac.uk</a></p>