2024 BNA Scholars announced
15th March 2024
In an attempt to reduce building energy consumption and its impact on climate change, the built environment is focusing more on the design and implementation of personalised comfort systems (systems directly cooling/heating the body of the occupant). However, to be effective, personalized indoor climate standards and applications should accurately represent the thermal demands of all occupants.
Unfortunately, due to limited research on individual differences in thermoregulatory behaviour and thermal preference of healthy and clinical populations (e.g. individuals with neurological diseases that impair thermal sensitivity), we are still far from reaching “comfort for all”.
The aim of this PhD will be to investigate individual variability in thermoregulatory behaviour, thermal sensitivity and thermal preference and to characterize its properties based on gender, age, body composition, and presence of neurological conditions. Successful applicants will be using a combination of physiological and psychophysical methods in human-based thermoregulatory research, and will be based at the Environmental Ergonomics Research Centre, which comprises 3 state-of-art climatic chambers.
Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Human Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology, Ergonomics or Exercise Science. A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage: Human & Applied Physiology, Sensory Neuroscience, Human Factors and Ergonomics, research experience with clinical or non-clinical human participants.
Further information can be found here
https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=82174&LID=2922