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  1. School of Physical and Chemical Sciences
  2. Centre for Condensed Matter Physics
  3. PhD at CCMP
  4. PhD Projects in CCMP
  5. Bayesian approach to model development in x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Bayesian approach to model development in x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Research Group: Center for Condensed Matter Physics
Number of Students: 1
Length of Study in Years: 4 years
Full-time Project: yes

Funding

Funding is provided via the China Scholarship Council.  

  • Available to Chinese applicants only.
  • Applicant required to start in September 2026
  • The studentship arrangement will cover overseas tuition fees for the duration of the studentship.

Project Description

 

In the group of Dr A. Sapelkin we closely work with the Diamond Light Source (DLS) in developing analysis tool for x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Over the last 40 years development of XAS has been driven by the need for structural information and was fuelled by advances in synchrotron science, theoretical description, and development of data analysis software. It has long been recognised XAS analysis and interpretation remains subjective to a significant extent because it involves solution of an inverse (and in general an ill-posed) problem, hence the information is highly sensitive to changes in the data and/or the model assumptions.

With this project we will develop Python-based software tools that will enable
seamless and fast pathway from data input to delivery of the numerical results offering tangible benefits to the the XAS user community, streamlining the publication process, and enhancing the accuracy of data analysis. Our approach builds on recently introduced by us Bayesian-based figure of merit (FoM), the Bayes Factor Integral (BFI) [10.1039/D3NR05110B,
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.07950] that enables to quantify user intuition.

Supervisor Contact Details:

For informal enquiries about this position, please contact Dr Andrei Sapelkin

E-mail: a.sapelkin@qmul.ac.uk

Application Method:

To apply for this studentship and for entry on to the Principal’s Scholarship programme (Full Time) please follow the instructions detailed on the following webpage:

https://www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/subjects/physics.html

Deadline for applications - 28th of January 2026

Requirements

  • The minimum requirement for this studentship opportunity is a good Honours degree (minimum 2(i) honours or equivalent) or MSc/MRes in a relevant discipline.
  • If English is not your first language you will require a valid English certificate equivalent to IELTS 6.5+ overall with a minimum score of 6.0 in all categories.  This will be required at application stage.

SPCS Academics: Dr Andrei Sapelkin

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