About us

We are a Centre of Excellence for RF engineering of particle accelerators in the UK, and part of the Cockcroft Institute of Accelerator Science and Technology. Working to push gradient and energy limits of particle accelerators and develop novel applications of accelerators. A key research theme is making accelerators more sustainable in terms of reducing energy usage, improving international access to radiotherapy, and applications for reducing the use of harmful chemicals. We are key collaborators with CERN and STFC and are delivering key components to CERN accelerators such as the LHC.

Our PhDs

The REAL Research Group is a part of the Cockcroft Institute, the UK’s largest educator of accelerator science and technology PhD students, offering exciting studentships in physics, engineering and other disciplines. They currently have around 70 PhD students studying at the Institute, around half of which are based at collaborating accelerator laboratories and institutes around the world, including CERN. Their postgraduates spend 3 to 4 years working on a specialised project in the field of accelerator science and technology.

Current PhD subjects include beam optics simulations, radio frequency engineering, mathematical physics, laser-plasma interactions, THz generation, anti-matter, photonics and metamaterials, surface science, beam diagnostics, superconductivity and accelerator commissioning.

Please visit the Cockcroft Institute's pages to learn more about the PhD opportunities with REAL at Lancaster.