- How does the Web function as a "musical ecosystem" in comparison to geographic centres ? - How is a music's locale evident within the music itself ? - How is a musical form affected by the contributions of practitioners operating outside of its original cultural nucleus ? - Do a music's defining qualities lose their relevance once released from context ? - What specific role does the Web play in a genre's evolution ? - Can a form of music maintain specific cultural relevance in a global, digital habitat ?

During the 20th century, the development of information technologies had a huge impact not only on science but also on society as a whole. This unprecedented revolution revealed a need to improve the speed and efficiency of data processing, as well as to strive for better security and privacy. One ultimate limitation of current information processing models is that they assume a simplified representation of physics, relying on classical mechanics. Quantum information technologies promise to break this barrier by achieving the highest security and efficiency allowed by the laws of physics, hence leading to a new revolution in information technologies, in the form of a large-scale network of classical and quantum computing devices able to communicate and process massive amounts of data both efficiently and securely using quantum resources. Despite steady experimental progress, we are still far from this longterm vision, not only due to technological limitations but also to the still-narrow range of applications of current quantum algorithms. The vision of this project is to combine research on the fundamentals of quantum algorithms with the development of new applications targeted at areas of extreme practical importance and timeliness such as big data and machine learning. The project will complement ongoing experimental efforts in quantum technologies by providing new software tools in order to help lead to a revolution in information technologies, harnessing the power of quantum resources to go well beyond today's capabilities, while maintaining a secure digital society.

The PhD project is part of an interdisciplinary effort to develop a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test to reduce the impact of antimicrobial resistance. Specifically, the project will study alternative ways of detecting intracellular fluctuations using an evanescent field illumination. It is known that these fluctuations are related to cellular metabolic activity, and they can be used to assess cellular viability immediately after exposure to an antimicrobial. The instrument recently developed in our laboratory has detected for the first time these intracellular fluctuations without the need for fluorescence tagging, but the setup is not suitable for a clinical setting, and a more compact and user-friendly alternative is needed. The project will require becoming familiar with standard biophysical methods for cellular characterisation. It will include training in confocal microscopy and atomic force microscopy of living bacterial cell, as well as the development of new chemical functionalisation protocols and micropatterning deposition to simplify the cell capturing step. The use of optical simulation software like Lumerical will support the development and testing of alternative implementations of the method. The final aim of the project is to develop a working prototype of a device that can rapidly assess the susceptibility of a bacterial sample to an antimicrobial. In the process, the project should stimulate the creation of new detection methods of the optical interaction between bacterial cells and evanescent fields. These new methods could have repercussions far beyond antimicrobial susceptibility and find more general uses in cell biology and cancer research. The project falls within the EPSRC Healthcare technologies theme.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at www.rcuk.ac.uk/StudentshipTerminology. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.