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PhD Projects
Research Studentships and Training
Our research activities include both full and part-time doctoral research with most academic staff supervising doctoral candidates. We have a small interdisciplinary group of full-time PhD students, and a larger group of part-time research students based outside the University. We see the number of part-time PhD students as a particular strength with students working while completing a research degree. The diversity and geographical spread of our part-time PhD students is something unique to the Open University.
Full-time PhD students | Part-time PhD students | List of Completed Design PhD Theses | Research Degrees at the Open University
Training
Research students receive the U501 multi-media research training pack and further research training support is provided through the University's Research Degree Skills website and the cross-university Doctoral Training Workshops (including the latter's Doctoral Training Workshop Resources). Design, as part of a wider Technology Strategy grouping, has Mode A recognition from the ESRC, which involves an MSc in Technology Strategy Research.
Reporting
University procedures for the progress reports, skills audit and probation review are available on the Research Degree Skills site. There is also here guidance for supervisors and assessors on reporting procedures.
At the Departmental level, the DDEM Research Secretary is Courtney Courtnage (email
p.j.courtnage@open.ac.uk). Supervisors should send student progress reports to Courtney once they have added their report on the form. Courtney keeps records of DDEM students and can advise on the Departmental administration of research students.
Full-time PhD Projects
Title: Emergent Museum Spaces: Ubiquitous Computing, Architecture and Complexity
Student: Tasos Varoudis
Supervisors: Katerina Alexiou, Nick Dalton, Jeff Johnson and Theodore Zamenopoulos
Status: Started October 2008
Title: Open Source: Sustainable Design in the Digital Era
Student: Ann Thorpe
Supervisors: Chris Earl, Peter Lloyd and Stephen Peake
Status: Started January 2007
Title: Sustaining Travel Plans in the Long Term
Student: Helen Roby
Supervisors: Stephen Potter and James Warren
Status: Started October 2006
Title: Ethical Decision-making in Designing Products
Student: Stacey Birkett
Supervisors: Peter Lloyd and Steve Garner
Status: Started June 2006
Part-time external PhD Projects
Title: CAD/CAM and creativity: Improving the Technology curriculum in secondary schools through student motivation and self-esteem
Student: Debi Cook
Supervisor: Steve Garner, Frank Banks
Status: Started October 2007
Title: Developing a Vision Substitution System for the Visually Impaired
Student: Anthony Johnston
Supervisor: Jeff Johnson
Status: Started October 2005
Title: Solar Photovoltaic Energy in Germany
Student: Steve Plater
Supervisors: Godfrey Boyle, Dave Elliott
Status: Started October 2005
Title: Development of Computer Vision Self-Training Identification Systems
Student: Paul Morley
Supervisors: Jeff Johnson, Anthony Lucas-Smith
Status: Started July 2004
Title: The Potential of Alternative Fuel Traction for Rail Application
Student: Paul Hodgson
Supervisors: Stephen Potter, James Warren
Status: Started January 2003
Title: Hydrogen as a Fuel Source for Cars: Feasibility, Social, Safety and Environmental Issues
Student: Chris Berridge
Supervisors: Stephen Potter, Stephen Peake, James Warren
Status: Started October 2002
Title: Pattern Recognition for Intelligent Machines
Student: Valerie Rose
Supervisor: Jeff Johnson, Anthony Lucas-Smith
Status: Started July 2002
2009
Title: Form Generation in Design
Student: Gareth Paterson
Supervisors: Chris Earl, Steve Garner
Status: Started October 2005
2008
Title: The Analysis of Very Large Systems in Complexity Science
Student: Joan Serras
Supervisors: Jeff Johnson and Stephen Potter
Status: Started October 2003
Title: Intelligent Robotics for Remote Exploration
Student: James Law
Supervisors: Jeff Johnson, Anthony Lucas-Smith
2007
Title:
Kinematic Morphology of Space Systems [pdf]
Student: John Hobbs
Supervisor: Joe Rooney
Title: Remote Access to Prototyping Laboratories
Student: Stephen Lathwell
Supervisor: Anthony Lucas-Smith
Title: Shape Grammars and Industrial Design [pdf, 11MB]
Student: Miquel Prats
Supervisors: Steve Garner, Chris Earl
2006
Title: Shape Grammars & their Application to Product Design [pdf, 3.49MB]
Student: Iestyn Jowers
Supervisors: Chris Earl, Steve Garner
2005
Title: Analysing the Implementation Process of Urban Road Pricing Schemes [pdf]
Student: Petros Ieromonachou
Supervisors: Stephen Potter and Marcus Enoch
Title: An automated guided vehicle for local transport
Student: Jack Cawkwell
Supervisors: Jeffrey Johnson and Stephen Potter
Title: Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Diagnosing Dental Lesions
Student: John Welford
Supervisors: Adrian Hopgood and Jeffrey Johnson
Title: Machine learning in robotics
Student: Pejman Iravani
Supervisors: Jeffrey Johnson and Lucia Rapanotti
Title: Measures from Complexity Science Provide Manufacturing Companies with Insights Previously Unavailable to Them
Student: Nicholas Scott
Supervisor: Jeffrey Johnson and Gerry Frizzel
Title: Physical computation and embodied artificial intelligence
Student: Sunny Bains
Supervisors: Anthony Lucas-Smith and Jeffrey Johnson
2003
Title: Energy utopianism and the rise of the anti-nuclear power movement in the UK
Student: Horace Herring
Supervisor: Dave Elliott
2002
Title: Application of Distributed Artificial Intelligence to the Flow Control of Mobile Robots
Student: Andrew Wallace
Supervisor: Anthony Lucas-Smith
Title:
Implementation Strategies for Fuel-cell Powered Road Transport Systems in the United Kingdom [Abstract pdf], [Ch 1], [Ch 2], [Ch3], [Ch 4], [Ch 5], [Annexes]
Student: Ben Lane
Supervisor: Stephen Potter
2001
Title: Eco Design Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Student: Mark Thomas Smith
Supervisors: Stephen Potter and Robin Roy
1999
Title: Designing together apart
Student: Thomas Kvan
Supervisor: Phil Steadman
Title: Object-orientated software representation of polymer materials information in engineering design
Student: Sean Ogden
Supervisor: Adrian Demaid
Title: Organisations as complex adaptive systems: implications for the design of information systems
Student: Kumkum Prasad
Supevisor: George Rzevski
Title: Towards computer supported co-operative design
Student: Susan Turner
Supervisor: Nigel Cross
1998
Title: Intelligent Support for Knitwear Design
Student: Claudia Eckert
Supervisors: Jeffrey Johnson and Nigel Cross
Title: Neural network techniques for invariant image classification
Student: Catherine Grimes
Supervisor: Anthony Lucas-Smith
Title: Bus-based best practice and urban transport emissions
Student: Marcus Enoch
Supervisor: Stephen Potter and Godfrey Boyle
Totle: The potential for fuel cells to reduce energy demands and pollution from the UK transport sector [pdf of thesis] and [updating 2008 paper]
Student: Vic Adams
Supervisors: Stephen Potter and
David Coley
1996
Title: Teaching with Style: Computer Aided Instruction, Personality and Design Education
Student: David Durling
Supervisors: Nigel Cross and Jeffrey Johnson
Title: A Low Cost Accurate Instrument to Measure the Moisture Content of Building Envelopes in Situ
Student: Hihui Ye
Supervisor: Chris Earl
Title: The decline of the British motorcycle industry
Student: Anthony Wynne-Jones
Supervisor: Robin Roy
Title: Eco-design - present attitudes and future directions: studies of UK company and design consultancy practice
Student: Emma Dewberry
Supervisors: Robin Roy and Stephen Potter
1995
Title: Graphic Design Evaluation: Towards a Rule-based System
Student: George Glaze
Supervisors: Nigel Cross and Jeffrey Johnson
Title: An Object-Oriented System for Engineering Polymer Information
Student: Vanessa Spedding
Supervisor: Adrian Demaid
1994
Title: Expert Systems in Design
Student: Richard Andrew Murphy
Supervisor: Phil Steadman
Full-time PhD students | Part-time PhD students
Page Last Updated: 26 February, 2009