Our eighth cohort of 18 students joined us in September 2026!
Abdulahi Jama
Hi I’m Abdulahi Jama and I’m from Bristol in the South-West of England. I graduated from the University of Bristol with a MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Where in my final year I developed an interest in semiconductor devices, spanning MEMS and Analogue ICs to Photonics Integrated Circuits. During that year I worked on a project designing a Ring Resonator for DWDM applications, by optimizing for a high quality factor (>10^3). This involved modelling the device on Ansys Lumerical and producing GDSII files for foundry production on a Cornerstone PDK.Throughout the CDT I hope to continue learning about all aspects of photonics and optoelectronics device design and gain practical hands-on lab skills. In my free time I enjoy reading and playing basketball.
Adam Nawaz
Hi, I’m Adam and I’m from Cardiff. I graduated with a BSc in Chemistry, where my final year project looked at structural modifications to titanium dioxide for photocatalytic water splitting. I then spent a few years working as a data engineer before moving into compound semiconductors.
I’ve just finished an MSc in Compound Semiconductor Physics at Cardiff. My research project investigated whether laterally coupled DFB lasers can match the performance of the current industry standard buried grating devices, and what effect grating order has on device performance. I compared three architectures on a single indium phosphide wafer using temperature-dependent LIV and spectral measurements.
I’m joining on the engineering route and looking forward to broadening into the electronics side of the field. Outside of study I enjoy the gym, running and reading fantasy books.
Oliver Baker
Hi, my name is Oliver, and I’m from Somerset in the south-west of England. I graduated from Cardiff University with an integrated master’s degree in physics. I chose Cardiff because of its prominent semiconductor research and industry, as I’ve always been interested in small-scale physics and its practical applications, which also align with my hobbies in electronics, hardware, and software.
For my master’s thesis, I investigated the degradation of quantum dot lasers on silicon, identifying key internal mechanisms that contribute to the gradual decline in laser performance based on their unique structure and design.
Physics and science have been interests of mine for as long as I can remember, which is convenient now that it’s my career. In my free time however, I enjoy challenging myself with new experiences, particularly in creative arts, travelling with friends, building and repairing electronics, learning new subjects, and online entrepreneurship.
Rhys Meredith
My name is Rhys, and I graduated from Swansea University with a 1st class degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. I was originally born in Glasgow, but moved to Wales when I was 6 and have never left since. I had been a Sports Scholar whilst at Swansea Uni for the past 3 years, and have been part of the welsh judo squad since 2023. My 3rd year project was on ‘Reliability Testing of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) & Wide-Bandgap (WBG) Semiconductor Technologies’, which looked at comparing 2 different methods of reliability testing for semiconductor technologies.
Jacob Hancock
Enzo Lau
Ben Williams
Iwan Brew
Aidan Moore
Lewis McCreith
Louise Holman
Rachel Walker
Tolga Jack
Callum Gough
Seam Drake
Szymon Pietka
Gregory Cserep
Ewan Hughes
Join us!
The Centre for Doctoral Training is currently funded for ten intakes, from 2019-2028. If you would like to join us, visit our how to apply page and get in touch if you have any questions.