Research Associate* in Multimodal Characterisation of Materials Interfaces

Location: South Kensington campus

Contract: Full-time, Fixed term appointment until 31/08/2026 with possibility to extend

Job summary:

INFUSE is a joint Shell/Imperial College/Diamond Light Source project funded by EPSRC Prosperity Partnership grant. It aims to examine how technologies like batteries, electric vehicles, chemical production, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be improved by understanding key material and fluid interfaces in these systems, enhancing sustainability and enabling a transition to a green economy.

The Researcher will carry out research in the study of key interfaces under realistic operating conditions by performing advanced laboratory- and synchrotron-based experimentation.

Strain at interfaces studied by grazing incidence diffraction, X-ray spectroscopy and imaging.

Solid-fluid interfaces are important in the technologies that must be developed for Net-Zero, including Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), lubrication, e-fluids and other sectors such as batteries or solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC’s).

The Researcher will join a collaborative and multidisciplinary team, including PhD students and postdocs associated with this project as well existing Shell-Imperial College London programmes: the Digital Rock Programme, the University Technology Centre for Fuels and Lubricants, and the Centre for Advanced Interfacial Materials Science (including Energy Storage).

Duties and responsibilities

• To design and carry out experiments that quantify the evolution of key interfacial properties in materials and fluids, including morphology, chemistry and structure.

Essential requirements

• Proven experience in the experimental characterisation of materials and fluids using a range of techniques, including synchrotron techniques, specifically grazing incidence diffraction, X-ray spectroscopy and imaging

Candidates who have not yet officially been awarded their PhD will be appointed initially at Research Assistant (with a salary range of £41,694 to £44,888.)

Informal enquiries about the post to Professor Mary Ryan (m.p.ryan@imperial.ac.uk) and InFUSE Programme Manager Dr Aigerim Omirkhan (aigerim.omirkhan15@imperial.ac.uk)

Queries regarding the application process should be directed to: Darakshan Khan (d.khan@imperial.ac.uk).

For technical issues, please contact: support.jobs@imperial.ac.uk

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/

We are committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation. We are an Athena SWAN Silver Award winner, a Disability Confident Leader and a Stonewall Diversity Champion.

Closing date: 31 July 2024

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