Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%. In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from our Doctoral College, including tailored careers advice, to help you succeed in your research and future career. Restoration of human functional activity has been a drive for many centuries dating back to early Egyptian and Greek civilizations. These interventions would often take the form of prosthesis or an assistive device made from various materials depending upon the body part. Emerging technologies in the last two decades have enabled a new paradigm of manufacturing in this area, using biomimetic and light-weight materials; structural-optimization techniques; additive manufacturing and active robotic controls. Building upon the existing success of the group on prosthetic mechanics of lower-extremity, the proposed project invites a suitable candidate to join the multi-disciplinary, dynamic research team to work on the “smart prosthetic” project. The candidate will focus on loading and performance aspects in the development of “smart prosthetic lower limb”. These aspects will be addressed by implementing experimental studies and developing numerical simulation tools to get an in-depth knowledge of mechanical behaviour of biological and artificial components of a smart prosthesis and to investigate deformation and fracture mechanisms under various usability regimes. Another important aspect will be analysis of stress and strain distributions in critical elements of the system. This project is part of a larger multi-disciplinary project being pursued by academics from several Schools under the University’s strategic theme “Health & Wellbeing”. The project aims to create a step change in prosthetic rehabilitation and will appeal to students interested in studying structural integrity of challenging multi-material mechanical structures with emphasis on design of medical devices and their integration with biological systems.