Civil Engineering: SURES Funded PhD in Advanced AI-Designed Bio-Based Capsules for Self-Healing Asphalt (RS960)

Funding Providers:

Swansea University is pleased to offer fully-funded Swansea University Research Excellence Scholarships (SURES) for full-time doctoral students to its seventh cohort, commencing in October 2026.

Each SURES scholarship includes tuition fees and a stipend – reviewed annually at the UKRI standard rate and a £1,000 annual training allowance to support immersive training experiences, conference attendance, engagement with industry and international collaborative opportunities. 

Each scholarship is offered for a maximum period of three years; SURES students are expected to submit their theses within this timescale. 

Informal scholarship enquiries from applicants to prospective supervisors – prior to the application deadline – are warmly encouraged; please direct these to the relevant member/s of faculty staff.

Subject Area: Civil Engineering

Project Start Dates: October 2026

**In exceptional circumstances, and subject to the discretion of the University and/or the relevant funding body, a deferral of offer may be granted to the next available enrolment period. Such deferral will typically not exceed a duration of three calendar months from the originally stipulated commencement date. Please note that only one deferral may be considered, and any such deferral is not guaranteed.

Supervisors: Dr Jose Norambuena-Contreras and Professor Antonio J. Gil

Aligned programme of study: Civil Engineering

Mode of study: Full-time

Place of study: Swansea University (Singleton and Bay Campus)

Project description:

Climate change and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping road design, as accelerated asphalt ageing driven by environmental and traffic changes leads to earlier cracking and increased pothole formation. Traditional repair methods are often labour-intensive and resource-consuming, highlighting the need for advanced self-healing solutions to design more sustainable and durable asphalt roads. Bio-based capsules containing rejuvenating agents offer a promising strategy to extend pavement lifespan by autonomously repairing micro-cracks and mitigating early-stage pothole formation. By integrating AI-enhanced computational design with experimental validation, these systems can be precisely optimised to deliver exceptionally durable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable asphalt materials, with the potential to revolutionise road infrastructure maintenance. This project aims to develop advanced bio-based capsules with rejuvenating agents, designed using AI-enhanced computational methods and experimentally validated, to establish a fundamental understanding of their structure–property relationships to promote adaptive self-healing asphalt. We will adopt a bottom-up methodology based on multiscale experimental testing, combined with a suite of AI-enhanced computational approaches. 

These will include machine learning for property prediction, generative models for inverse design, and physics-informed neural networks (or Gaussian predictors) to integrate experimental data with physical constraints, enabling the design and optimisation of bio-based capsules for self-healing asphalt materials.

Please note that the programme requires some applicants to hold ATAS clearance, further details on ATAS scheme eligibility are available on the UK Government website. 

ATAS clearance IS NOT required to be held as part of the scholarship application process. Successful award winners (as appropriate) are provided with details as to how to apply for ATAS clearance in tandem with a scholarship course offer.

Candidates must have achieved, or be expecting to achieve, a 1st class UK undergraduate degree (or equivalent international qualification), or a 2:1 UK undergraduate degree and a Distinction in a UK master’s degree (or international equivalent).

• Where applicants have multiple master’s degrees, a distinction must be held in the degree that is most relevant to the intended PhD study.
• If you are currently studying for a master’s level qualification with an expected award date that is later than 01/10/2026, you should hold a minimum of an upper-second-class (2:1) honours degree.
• You should be able to demonstrate a pass with a minimum grade average of at least 70% for your part-one master’s degree modules (the taught aspect of your master’s course rather than a research-focused dissertation) and submit your dissertation by no later than 30/09/2026. 

NB: If you hold a non-UK degree, please see the Swansea University degree comparisons to find out if you meet the eligibility criteria. 

Applicants must be able to begin their course of study in October 2026.   

As a cohort-based programme, deferral to an alternative enrolment window within the academic year or to another academic year is not permissible. 

English Language requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with a score of at least 6.5 in each individual component) or equivalent that is recognised by Swansea University.   

Details on the Swansea University English Language entry policy can be found here. 

Please note that both the degree and language-proficiency entry requirements for SURES are higher than the baseline standard for entry that is stipulated for most of the PhD programmes at Swansea University.

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £21,805 for 2026/27). 

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available. 

To apply, please complete the entire application form here. 

To be considered for this scholarship award the following steps are also required.

1) In section ‘Programme Related Information’ please input the relevant RS Code for the scholarship award i.e. RS960  

2) In section ‘Research’ you will see ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’* (Mandatory)  

• In ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’ please input: 

• • the RS Code, RS960  

• • the scholarship title  

• Please leave Proposed Supervisor field blank  

• Please leave Research Project (if applicable) blank  

• In ‘Do you have a proposal to upload? *’(Mandatory) Please select Yes  

• Then upload copy of advert (you can save the advert by clicking print, and then print to pdf) 

3) In section ‘Funding information’ please choose the option ‘Scholarship Funding’ only. Please ensure no other options are selected.  

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.  

If you’ve previously applied for this programme, the system will display an “Application Submitted” warning and block a new submission. In this case:  

1. Apply for the same course with the next available start date (e.g., select January if October is unavailable). 
2. Email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk with your student number and the relevant scholarship RS code, requesting the start date be amended to match the advert. 
3. Admissions staff will then update your application accordingly.

Important: If you have previously applied for the same programme & intake, do not re‑apply using a different email address. Applications submitted with an email address that differs from the one used in your original application will not be accepted or considered. 

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.  

NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.    

Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted. 

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient) 
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project.
• One reference (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable).
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
• Confirmation of EDI form submission

Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact: José Norambuena-Contreras j.norambuena@swansea.ac.uk 

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.