PhD Studentship: Taking snaps of plant life conditions: designing a new Crop Autonomous Micro-Environmental Recording Array

DoS: Anne Plessis anne.plessis@plymouth.ac.uk

2^nd Supervisor: Paul Davey pdavey@plymouth.ac.uk

3^rd Supervisor: Simon Ussher email@plymouth.ac.uk

Applications are invited for a 18 months ResM. The studentship will start on 1^st January 2025.

Project Description

Project background

In order to maintain future food production, there is an urgent need to improve crop resilience to stresses related to climate change. Monitoring plant environmental conditions is an essential step to better understand crop stress responses. While there have been major advances in remote sensing for agricultural fields, there are no established systems for ground based environmental monitoring suited to pot experiments. Plants are very sensitive to apparently small variations in their environment, a phenomenon that has been considered more of a nuisance than an opportunity so far but can actually provide a valuable source of information to decipher plant environmental responses. However, we can only access this information if we can develop the appropriate technology to monitor precisely environmental conditions around each plant in an experiment.

Project aim and methods

In this project, you will develop a new automated sensor system to monitor environmental conditions for each individual pot within a large-scale experiment (50-100 pots). Your aim will be to design, build and test a cost-effective, robust, reliable and fit for purpose system to measure relevant aspects of the plant environment (solar irradiance, air temperature, humidity, wind speed and soil temperature) at a high temporal and spatial density. You will select/build appropriate atmospheric and soil sensors and integrate them into a wireless network continuously recording environmental conditions for each pot. Finally, you will create a use friendly platform to organise the large dataset generated into the format required to model plant responses to the environment.

Eligibility

Applicants should have a first or upper second class honours degree in Electronic, Electrical Engineering, Robotics or similar, with experience in embedded IOT coding using C/C++ especially for wireless sensor data collection. Knowledge of data encoding and decoding principles, along with some JavaScript or Node JS, and MQTT, JSON is desirable. Additionally, some experience setting up and using WiFi routers and switches as well as 3D printing are also desirable. Candidates should also have basic understanding of electronic components, and be able to fault find at a component level using standard laboratory test equipment, and custom code.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum English requirements for the programme, IELTS Academic score of 6.5 (with no less than 5.5 in each component test area) or equivalent.

The studentship is supported for 18 months and includes full Home tuition fees plus a stipend of £19,237 per annum 2024/25 rate.  The studentship will only fully fund applicants who are eligible for Home fees with relevant qualifications.  Applicants normally required to cover International fees will have to cover the difference between the Home and the International tuition fee rate.

If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact Anne Plessis, anne.plessis@plymouth.ac.uk

To apply for this position please click on the Apply button above.

Please clearly state the name of the studentship that you are applying for on the top of your personal statement.

The closing date for applications on 22 October 2024.

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