PhD Studentship in Control Engineering: Integrated Control Architectures for Synchrotron Light Sources

This 3.5-year DPhil studentship at the University of Oxford focuses on designing innovative control architectures for next-generation synchrotron light sources. The project aims to integrate and coordinate multiple feedback systems—such as orbit feedback, radio-frequency systems, and beam diagnostics—operating at varying sampling rates and bandwidths. The successful candidate will develop structured, distributed, and hierarchical control methods to enhance electron and X-ray beam stability while addressing challenges like computational distribution and overlapping objectives. The work will involve collaboration with Diamond Light Source and potential partnerships with international synchrotron facilities, ensuring real-world applicability and impact.

• Develop novel control and architecture design methods to integrate and coordinate multiple feedback systems in synchrotron light sources.
• Investigate structured system decomposition techniques, such as multi-array matrix and tensor factorisations, for distributed control.
• Apply system shaping methods, including disturbance-observer-based approaches, to enhance beam stability.
• Collaborate with Diamond Light Source and other international synchrotron facilities to validate and refine control models.
• Evaluate proposed control architectures using realistic accelerator models and experimental systems.
• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present results at international conferences.