Jianting Feng

Jianting Feng is a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Leeds in the School of Civil Engineering.

Jianting was inspired to study at the University of Leeds by its academic rigor and consistently high rankings, as well as its impactful, interdisciplinary research. This made Leeds his first choice for pursuing a doctoral degree – which presented a fresh start in terms of research focus. 

 

“My current research topic is different from previous work”, said Jianting. “But as my primary supervisor, Professor Doug Stewart, said: ‘No matter what your research projects are, our task – in essence – is to find problems and solve them’. From that perspective, there are common elements between my current research and my previous work. 

“To be honest, as I started to conduct research in the laboratory I found that almost all my colleagues are studying different things from their previous background. It is quite common in Leeds – at least in Civil Engineering – and this inspired me a lot. Since then, I always remind myself to not be limited by previous work; there is actually a lot I can do. I think this is the first lesson I learned from Leeds, and it really helped me a lot.” 

No matter what your research projects are, our task – in essence – is to find problems and solve them.

A Change of Direction 

Jianting’s work has a strong environmental focus. “Before I began my PhD journey, my interests were mostly in the enhancement of soft soils by using Microbial Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) and electro-osmotic techniques. My previous research background is more closely related to geotechnical engineering. 

“I first realised that my skills in Geotechnical Engineering could be applied to a wide range of environmental problems when my supervisor interviewed me and briefly introduced me to his projects. This really aroused my interest, and I decided to further study environmental problems when I started my PhD journey. 

 

“My current research topic is to understand the behaviour and fate of metals in sludge-amended soil. Hopefully – through this project research – we can aid the development of better management practices for the reuse of sewage sludge in agriculture. 

“Current regulations on sludge use are viewed as simplistic and outdated, so there is a need to update these regulations for better use of sewage sludge. I hope that the findings in my PhD project can contribute to future regulations and make a minor contribution to environmental protection.” 

I hope that the findings in my PhD project can contribute to future regulations.

A Solid Academic Environment 

Jianting has benefited from the support of University staff, and plans to continue studying into the future. “My supervisors are quite supportive, and they give me lots of valuable suggestions on my PhD project. My supervisors have always been interested in the reuse of sewage sludge in agriculture. Previously, they have done some work on it and my project is a continuation of that. 

“In addition to my supervisors, the lab technicians (both in Civil Engineering, and in other schools) are also very supportive and give me a lot of help whenever I have problems. I really appreciate their help, and I know it would not be possible to complete my PhD project without their support. 

In addition to my supervisors, the lab technicians are also very supportive and give me a lot of help whenever I have problems.

“After the completion of my PhD, I plan to remain in the academic community by pursuing a Postdoctoral Position at a Chinese University. I look forward to conducting more interesting and important research in future, with the hope that my work will contribute to the advancement of science." 

 

Join us

Want to know more about student life at Leeds? Chat to one of our current students to find out what it’s like to be part of our welcoming community.