Doctoral study in Mechatronics Engineering

Pursuing a PhD at the University gives you access to a high-calibre research community – you may have the opportunity to publish papers, attend international conferences and develop your network in academia and industry.

We welcome research proposals in topics relating to our key areas, including:

• Medical devices and technologies, which involves cutting-edge research, development and translation of innovative medical devices and technologies to clinical and commercial uptake
• Neural Engineering, a multidisciplinary field of engineers, scientists, and clinicians who aim to understand, repair, replace, and enhance the nervous system
• Robotics, research focusing on solving real-world problems by employing robotics science and technologies
• Smart Materials and Structures, the incorporation of smart materials into the design of mechatronic systems

Get in-depth details on Mechatronics research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Dr Luke Hallum

The interdisciplinary research of Dr Luke Hallum (right), pictured here with students Lucy Yan and Matt Carleton, is at the interface of engineering and neuroscience – neural engineering. His expertise and interests include electrophysiology (single-neuron measurements in the brain's cerebral cortex, and electroencephalography of cortical activity), neural prosthetics such as retinal prosthesis, and machine learning for decoding brain signals.

More researchers in Mechatronics Engineering:

• Associate Professor Andrew McDaid
• Dr Jaspreet Dhupia
• Dr Jonathan Stringer
• Associate Professor Karl Stol
• Associate Professor Kean Aw
• Associate Professor Lihua Tang
• Associate Professor Minas Liarokapis
• Professor Peter Xu
• Dr Vladislav Sorokin

• Aerial manipulator interactions with trees for canopy sampling | Supervised by Associate Professor Karl Stol and Professor Peter Xu
• Bimorph pneumatic bending actuator by control of fiber braiding angle | Supervised by Associate Professor Kean Aw and Associate Professor Andrew McDaid
• Single-grasp object classification and feature extraction with simple robot hands and tactile sensors | Supervised by Dr Minas Liarokapis
• Low-excitation, broadband and low frequency energy harvesting | Supervised by Associate Professor Kean Aw and Dr Lihua Tang
• Control of IPMC actuators for microfluidics | Supervised by Associate Professor Andrew McDaid and Associate Professor Kean Aw
• Soft tissue manipulation with robot | Supervised by Professor Peter Xu
• Micro-reactive inkjet printing of conductive polymer materials for sensors and electronic devices | Supervised by Dr Jonathan Stringer and Associate Professor Kean Aw
• Design, analysis, and optimization of an acute stroke gait rehabilitation device | Supervised by Associate Professor Andrew McDaid
• Modelling and analysis of a thermoacoustic-piezoelectric energy harvester | Supervised by Dr Lihua Tang

There are several scholarships you may be eligible for when you decide to pursue your PhD in Mechatronics Engineering, including the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships.

For general student enquiries, please contact the Student Hubs.

If you would like to find out more about studying Mechatronics Engineering, you can contact a Postgraduate Adviser.