PhD/MPhil in Physics and Astronomy - Astronomy Instrumentation in Cardiff United Kingdom | Cardiff University

The Astronomy Instrumentation Group (AIG) is renowned for creating cutting-edge technological solutions and applying them to advanced instrument designs that address contemporary scientific challenges. Our leadership in far-infrared space instrumentation is demonstrated through key roles in missions like Herschel (where Cardiff leads as the Principal Investigator institute for SPIRE) and Planck. The AIG team consists of 7 faculty members, 9 postdoctoral researchers, and 6 doctoral candidates, supported by expert technicians and engineers specializing in cleanroom operations, cryogenics, electronics, and computing.

AIG played pivotal roles in both the Herschel and Planck missions, with Cardiff's astrophysics team continuing to analyze the groundbreaking data from these telescopes. Professor Matt Griffin serves as Principal Investigator for Herschel's SPIRE instrument, which—along with all other Herschel instruments—incorporates proprietary optical technology developed by Cardiff's AIG. Additionally, Professor Peter Ade contributes as Co-Investigator for Planck's HFI instrument.
The group is directed by Professor Walter Gear, who also serves as Co-Investigator for Herschel and previously led the QUaD cosmic microwave background polarization study and the SCUBA camera project at Hawaii's JCMT.

Program durations: PhD 3-4 years, MPhil 1-2 years