The OpportunityMonash University and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) launched the Zema Energy Studies Scholarship in March 2019, a world-class PhD program to develop the nation's future energy leaders. The Scholarship has been established to honour the memory of AEMO's founding Chief Executive Officer, energy reform leader, and Monash alumnus Matt Zema, and is designed to support the next generation of leaders to meet Australia's energy sector challenges. It was created with the support of the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council and in partnership with AEMO.The Zema Scholarship aims to create a cohort of energy professionals with advanced multidisciplinary knowledge across engineering, IT, and business and economics. The PhD program is intended to deepen students' expertise, unlock their full leadership potential, and help them gain exposure to Australia's national energy industry. The scholarship provides a $50,000 per annum stipend plus the opportunity for a paid internship with AEMO, and will support the successful applicant for the approved duration of their PhD candidature, to a maximum of three-and-a-half years.Candidates interested in a Masters by Research in the below topic areas will also be considered. These are example projects listed under the Zema Energy Studies Scholarship. If you would like to contact a supervisor and design an energy-related research project, this would be considered. Multidisciplinary projects will be given priority.Potential research areas and supervisorsSupplying synthetic inertiaSupervisors: Dr Behrooz Bahrani (Engineering) and Associate Professor Guillaume Roger (Economics). This project explores how batteries connected to inverters can be used to substitute for physical inertia, and to compare these with generation turbines (fossil and renewable) and synchronous condensers. Importantly, it also explores how new markets (for example, the existing Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) market) can be developed to supply synthetic inertia.Role of storage in the energy marketSupervisors: Dr Roger Dargaville. Energy storage can take many forms, lithium-ion batteries at a variety of scales, pumped hydro energy storage, or thermal storage. Understanding the optimal mix of technologies is challenging and is dependent on requirements of both power (GW) and energy (GWh) and characteristics of the generation fleet (mix of wind, solar, hydro etc.) and the likelihood of wind and solar 'droughts'.Role of EVs in the gridSupervisors: Professor Hai L Vu (Engineering) and TBD. Electric vehicles (EVs) become increasingly popular due to their efficiency and environmental friendliness. However, mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) will result in significant power demand due to battery charging which in turn affects the power distribution network. This project will develop models to study and evaluate this impact.Candidate RequirementsYou can apply to pursue one of the Zema scholarship projects or contact a willing supervisor and design your own project. Please note that researchers receive many requests for supervision. Make sure your email is specific for the Zema Scholarship and describes the research area/project you wish to work in, and provides details of your academic record. If the researcher agrees to be nominated on your application, you should proceed to the next step.The process for applying for a PhD scholarship at Monash varies for each faculty, but in general you will need to find a supervisor (an academic at Monash) and then submit an expression of interest with your faculty, after which you will be invited to make a full submission.EngineeringSubmit an Expression of Interest (EOI) or To Apply. After you have received an invitation to apply, you can submit an application via the online portal. The deadline for submitting full applications is 31 October 2024, and so you should be making contact with potential supervisors by early October.Enquiries:
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