The School of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University is seeking five students to undertake PhD projects in collaboration with the Building Research Establishment (BRE).  This is the first stage in a programme of collaborative research between BRE and the University. 

The research covers three core strands that align with BRE’s priorities and build on existing areas of strength in the University:

High performing buildings: including building information modelling and design, energy demand reduction, ventilation, thermal and daylight simulation, monitoring and post-occupancy evaluation.

Sustainable construction: including sustainability management, assessment and informatics, responsible and ethical sourcing of materials, sustainable procurement and supply chains, waste minimisation and resource efficiency.

Resilient buildings and communities: including disaster risk reduction, community resilience, flooding research, condition monitoring and assessment of buildings and civil infrastructure.

Professor Jacqui Glass, Professor of Architecture and Construction and Associate Dean for Enterprise in the School of Civil and Building Engineering, stated:

“We are delighted to be collaborating with BRE in these important areas.  Support from the BRE Trust in particular enables the researchers to leverage BRE’s wealth of experience and achieve wide reaching impact via BRE’s standards such as BREEAM. This significant support builds upon our status as a Royal Academy of Engineering Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Building Design, and will extend the internationally leading research undertaken in our School in this area. ”

Dr Deborah Pullen, BRE Group Research Director, reiterated BRE’s support for the initiative:

“Working with the Centre at Loughborough allows us to build on our own research capabilities through alignment with the extensive work being carried out at the University.  Loughborough is one of the foremost universities with regards to built environment research, and working together enables us to significantly advance knowledge and innovation in these core areas..”

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Loughborough consolidated its position in the premier league of research universities. It was ranked 14th in the UK and 9th among universities in England for research intensity. At subject level, seven of Loughborough’s subject areas feature in their national subject top ten.

In the subject assessment for Architecture, Built Environment and Planning, Loughborough was ranked fifth overall in the UK. 100% of its research impact and of its research environment was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Applications for the five studentships are open until 22^nd May. 

Traceability in the construction supply chain http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/finance/research/studentships/studentships/phd-studentship-traceability-in-the-construction-supply-chain-ref-gs15cbe1m1.html

Repeatability in building modelling and design http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/finance/research/studentships/studentships/phd-studentship-repeatability-in-building-modelling-and-design-ref-gs15cbe1m.html

Bringing big data into building energy modelling http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/finance/research/studentships/studentships/phd-studentship--bringing-big-data-into-building-energy-modelling-ref-gs15cbe.html

Embedding the idea of the circular economy into buildings http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/finance/research/studentships/studentships/phd-studentship--embedding-the-idea-of-the-circular-economy-into-buildings-ref.html

Measuring the resilience of communities http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/finance/research/studentships/studentships/phd-studentship--measuring-the-resilience-of-communities-ref-gs15cbe1m5.html