About the Project
This fully funded PhD position will reward the successful candidate with an award covering full fees, a maintenance stipend in line with UKRI rates, and a Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) grant worth 10,000 GBP for personal development and consumables. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to join the PGR community in the School of Design and access training and support for their specialism.
Human colour vision is trichromatic, meaning that most people perceive colour through three types of cone cells in the eye, each sensitive to different parts of the visible spectrum. The signals from these three cone types allow us to experience a vast range of colours, yet they also create interesting and complex challenges for how we reproduce and control colour in the world around us.
Because the cones respond to broad regions of the spectrum rather than single wavelengths, different spectral combinations of light can produce the same perceived colour. This phenomenon underpins both colour image reproduction (in displays, prints, and lighting) and metamerism, where two colour samples match under one light source but differ under another. It also means that light sources that appear identical in colour can differ greatly in their spectral composition and some may be better suited for specific visual tasks than others; for example, certain spectral profiles could enhance a surgeon’s ability to distinguish between subtle shades of tissue, or improve colour assessment in industries such as textiles, cosmetics, or dentistry.
This exciting PhD project will investigate how the spectral characteristics of light can be optimised for visual inspection tasks, and how different lighting conditions influence human visual performance.
The project’s central research question is around how lighting can be spectrally optimised to support specific visual or perceptual tasks. To address this multifaceted question, the project will seek multifaceted solutions. Research will examine:
- Spectral tuning and optimisation techniques using advanced LED lighting systems.
- Human colour perception and task performance under different spectral conditions.
- Applications across various sectors (this could include healthcare, textiles, and cosmetics, for example) where accurate colour discrimination is essential.
- Potential enhancements for colour-deficient observers, aiming to improve accessibility in visual environments.
The research will draw on recent advances in spectrally tunable lighting, such as low-cost programmable LED systems. The School of Design’s lighting laboratory provides a key facility for experimental work, enabling real-world testing and validation of different spectral configurations.
This project forms part of the LITAC Studentship and benefits from a strong network of academic and industrial collaborators.
- Academic partners include experts from the University of East Anglia (Prof Graham Finlayson), University of Cambridge (Prof Rafal Mantiuk), and University of Sussex (Dr Nicola Bosten), offering cross-institutional expertise in vision science, imaging and colour.
- Industrial partners include Apple, Verivide, and the Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC), with whom the University of Leeds already has established collaborative relationships.
- The project also aligns with interests from companies such as Colgate, Unilever and Estée Lauder, where accurate colour assessment is central to product development.
Working alongside these partners will provide opportunities for applied research, knowledge exchange, and the commercialisation of intellectual property, particularly through Verivide’s expertise in lighting systems.
The outcomes are expected to support lighting manufacturers, such as Philips, Verivide, and ThousLite, in developing next-generation lighting products that are optimised for specific visual environments and tasks, offering a clear competitive advantage.
The successful applicant will join the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) a collaborative international research Institute that applies academic expertise, working together with a range of external partners, to address global challenges and sustainable development in textile and colour industries. We are focused on the development of innovative science and technology, materials, methods and processes.
Duration and Value of the Award
- The award provides full academic fees and a maintenance grant (£21,805 in Session 2026/27) for full-time study, part-time will be pro-rata. This amount increases per annum in line with the UKRI rate. Full-time awards provide full fees and maintenance for 3 years.
- The award will be made for one year in the first instance and renewable for a further period of up to 2 years (pro-rata for part-time), subject to satisfactory academic progress.
- The LITAC Scholarship includes an additional £10K, spread over the period of study; to cover outcome dissemination, personal development aligned with the PhD research, and research consumables.
- Please be aware that any expenses related to the relocation of international students to the UK (visa, insurance, NHS fees, flights, etc) would be their responsibility and is not covered by this award.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be eligible to pay fees at the Home (UK) rate.
Other Conditions
- Awards must be taken up by 1 February 2027.
- Candidates who have previously been awarded a PhD or are currently registered on a PhD are excluded from applying. Those who were previously studying for a PhD but did not complete may be considered.
- The awards are available for new Postgraduate Researchers undertaking full-time or part-time research study leading to the degree of PhD.
- Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this scholarship, it is expected that researchers will be based on campus for a significant portion of each week.
Entry requirements
Applicants to research degree programmes should normally have at least a first class or an upper second class British Bachelors Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate discipline. The criteria for entry for some research degrees may be higher, for example, several faculties, also require a Masters degree. Applicants are advised to check with the relevant School prior to making an application. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the School or Graduate School prior to making an application.
Contact details
For further information please contact the Admissions Office at ahcpgradmissions@leeds.ac.uk.
This is a Preview Listing…
You must sign in to see the full job description, and to apply.
Manage / Upgrade this job to a Full Job Listing.
Find Your Best Opportunity
Tell them AcademicJobs.com sent you!
