STEN Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology

Structure of the PhD Programme

Achieving a PhD in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology requires at least three year equivalent of full-time study and research activities, with the final submission of a PhD thesis.

During the PhD experience, each PhD student is supported by a Tutor and a Supervisor, in both the training programme and the research project.
The PhD programme favours research interactions of students with other groups in the same research field, preferably abroad. Research visits of at least three months (but often of six months or longer) at universities, research centres or companies are strongly encouraged as means for scientific, technical and personal growth.

During the PhD programme, candidates acquire the capability to disseminate their work to the scientific and industrial community by participating in international conferences and by publishing papers in scientific journals.

STEN PhD Educational project

PhD Path

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I appreciate every minute I’ve spend in Politecnico. Every coffee break before work, each insightful conversation with colleagues, every line of Matlab code I’ve wrote … give me great fun and joy. I’m so proud of and being so grateful working with one of the most reliable, intelligent and open-minded people in the word, I couldn’t find more pleasure and energy without their accompany. All the trainings and challenges during my PhD make me close to the who I am and who I want to be.
Mei Chen – 2nd year STEN PhD student
Collaboration with Research Institutes and the Industry

Interaction with and exposure to non-academic sectors provide significant benefits to doctoral candidates as well as to research and innovation intensive employment sectors. Direct exposure to the challenges and opportunities in non-academic sectors of the economy and society at large is fostered by networking, connectivity, inter-sectoral mobility and wide access to knowledge.

The STEN PhD Programme collaborates with several Research Agencies and Industrial partners in public or private funded research projects.

International PhD Network

The Politecnico di Milano supports joint PhD paths with International Institutions, as well as Joint and Double PhD programmes.

More specifically, the STEN PhD Programme collaborates with several international universities and  participates in EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programmes for doctoral education and postdoctoral training (see for example the ongoing projects EASYGO and to GREYDIENT).

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More than just a PhD!

It’s a training programme designed to support and develop the next generation of researchers, innovators and leaders.

Best Education

The STEN PhD Programme offers top level courses in the field of Energy and Nuclear Engineering as well as in the field of soft and transferable skills.
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Growth Opportunity

STEN PhD is a unique opportunity to access the world of cutting-edge international research and boost your scientific growth.
Grasp the opportunity to grow in a stimulating and rich international network connecting universities, companies and research centres.

Training & internships

Doctoral students can undertake training periods or internships in companies as well as in public and private entities, other universities, research institutes and laboratories, in Italy or abroad.
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Double & Joint Phd

The International agreements offer the candidates the opportunity to develop their PhD career in collaboration with International universities and research centers.
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Research Activities

Multidisciplinary approach

The STEN PhD Programme proposes a multidisciplinary approach for the candidate to reach the state of-the-art knowledge in the specific research field, to contribute to the growth of scientific knowledge and technology and to create new solutions for the sustainable energy challenges.

Below are some examples of specific research activities that may be developed within the STEN Programme:

Energy systems and components

  • Renewable energy technologies;
  • Energy from solar, wind, biomass and waste;
  • Combustion and fuel utilization processes with low environmental impact;
  • Thermo-dynamic cycles for generation and co-generation of mechanical, electrical and thermal power;
  • Reverse cycles for cooling and conditioning;
  • Design of critical components such as turbines, compressors, pumps, internal combustion engines and heat exchange devices;
  • Techniques for heat transfer enhancement;
  • Fuel cells;
  • Hydrogen production technologies;
  • Hydrogen transport, storage and utilization;
  • Batteries and energy storage technologies;
  • Micro-co-generation, CO2 capture and storage;
  • Advanced thermal-measurement techniques;
  • Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), optimization of renewable multi-energy systems.

Thermal engineering

  • Heat and mass transfer in building envelope and in heating, ventilating, air conditioning & refrigeration equipment and systems;
  • Indoor air quality, air filtration and cleanrooms;
  • Heat pumps;
  • Solar & renewable energy heating and cooling;
  • Innovative technologies for building boundaries and bio-climatic projects, automation systems for buildings, energy efficient products and components, environmental and economic impact of energy transformation, technological aspects connected with the use of renewable energy, integration of natural and artificial illumination.

Nuclear engineering

  • Development of innovative radiation detectors and of the related electronics for environmental and personal monitoring;
  • Development of advanced methods for electronic signal processing;
  • Radioprotection and nuclear safeguards;
  • Ionizing radiation applications in the technology and energy fields as well as in other areas of interest, as medical, high energy particle physics, etc.;
  • Design of new generation nuclear power plants for energy conversion from the point of view of thermo-hydraulics, thermo-mechanics, neutronics, dynamics and control, fuel and fuel-cycle;
  • Development of nuclear reactors for aerospace applications and nuclear fusion systems;
  • Nuclear plant decommissioning, reprocessing, conditioning and radioactive waste transport and disposal.

Reliability and Safety Engineering of Energy and Nuclear Systems

  • Advanced Reliability, Availability, Maintainability (RAM) analysis;
  • Prognostics and Health Management (PHM);
  • Predictive Maintenance;
  • Condition-Informed Risk Assessment;
  • Resilience Assessment;
  • Complex Systems and Critical Infrastructures Analysis in the Nuclear, Energy, and other industries.

Materials for Energy & Physics of Matter

  • Production and characterization of nanostructured materials by Physical Vapor Deposition techniques;
  • Laser-matter interaction and plasma studies for material synthesis;
  • Design of oxides, nitrides and novel materials for optical and plasmonic applications;
  • Synthesis of novel (1D-2D) carbon based structures for advanced applications;
  • Production of nanomaterials for next generation batteries;
  • Characterization of novel materials by advanced techniques;
  • Study of advanced metallic alloys and protective coatings for harsh environments;
  • Study of plasma-wall interaction in plasma machines via experiments and numerical modelling;
  • Design of new materials for Inertial Confinement Fusion: simulations and experiments;
  • Laser-plasma physics and laser-driven particle acceleration: theory and experiments;
  • Plasma systems for space propulsion.

Energy Labs

32 Research laboratories

Research is carried out in experimental, modelling and numerical simulation laboratories that cover a total area of more than 10,000 square metres and are located in the Bovisa and Leonardo Campuses.

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Your talent

Our global reputation is down to staff and students working together towards a common goal. If you are ready to do research that matters, we are looking for you.
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Video PhD Stories

Elena Crespi

Electrical grid balancing with fast-ramping Fuel Cell and electrolysis systems: analysis, modelling and optimization

Silvia Corigliano

Geospatial based methodology for rural electrification planning

Marco Cecchetti

Experimental and Model-based Study of Cross-over Phenomena Aimed at the Design and Development of an Innovative Selective Layer for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery

Igor Matteo Carraretto

Experimental Characterization of Air-Water Foamy Flows

Nicolò Stevanato

Demand-Needs Nexus in Off-Grid Energy Planning: the undervalued driver of development

Nicolò Golinucci

Industrial Ecology for Sustainable Energy Transition: the Role of Carbon Emission Reduction Mechanisms

Selva Calixto

Evaluating techno-economicscenarios for low-temperature district heating and cooling networks and conventional solutions

Martina Ferrando

Setting and tuning of building stock archetypes for Urban Building Energy Modelling (UBEM)

Marco Tognoli

Physical/data-driven dynamic modelling of fire-tube boilers and demand prediction aiming at adaptive optimization of the supply set-point condition