Research Associate (FTC 24 Months)

FTE and working pattern:  35 Hours (1 FTE, 5 from 7 days as required), fixed term contract for 24 months

Detailed Description 

The work will be managed within the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society with input from Aston University Birmingham and University of Birmingham. The Urban Energy Research Group within the Institute for Sustainable Built Environment (ISBE) comprises a team of experienced researchers in the field of energy and buildings, with a long track record in industry and research council funding. The individual will therefore be part of, and be expected to contribute to, a successful research team.

The chosen candidate will be working within ISBE which undertakes cutting-edge research to deliver technological advances and inform government policy on topics relevant to climate change and sustainable development; net zero buildings; infrastructure deterioration; and personal and national security.  Please see the link below for more details. 

The Project

“Advancing the use of biochar in the building industry: a multi-stakeholder study” https://www.ukri.org/news/first-projects-from-ukris-new-interdisciplinary-scheme-announced/ is an £0.8M project led by Heriot-Watt University and funded through the UKRI Cross Research Council Responsive Mode (CRCRM) Scheme. The project envisions to provide a decision support framework to enhance the use of biochar within the UK building industry to make a significant contribution to fight climate change.

Please see the link below for more details.  

Description of Duties

The successful appointee will carry out the work in all phases including literature reviews, stakeholder consultations and building and energy modelling. The appointee will be expected to undertake the following:

• Carry out research tasks independently and within an interdisciplinary team
• Publish papers and produce other output relating to own research
• Help develop the methodology relating to building modelling of biochar composites
• Apply qualitative approaches to carefully design a series of events and stakeholder workshops
• Assist academic duties of line manager as appropriate
• Travel to partner universities (research collaborators) to carry out interdisciplinary research and/or attend meetings presentations etc.
• Identify appropriate sources of funding and help prepare research proposals for funding bodies 

Person Specification  

Essential:

Qualifications

• A first degree in an engineering or science discipline
• A PhD (or forthcoming PhD) in a topic with relevance to energy and buildings

Experience

• Experience in the use of dynamic building simulation software (e.g. IES-VE/EnergyPlus)
• Experience of statistical analyses of energy demand datasets
• Knowledge of low-carbon buildings and life cycle analysis 

Desirable:

• Experience of working as part of an inter disciplinary team
• Experience of steady-state building modelling in the UK (e.g. SAP/SBEM)
• Knowledge of programming languages for data analysis (e.g. Python)
• Experience of using social science techniques for data collection
• Evidence of delivering on externally funded research projects 

Please see the link below for more details. 

Contact 

For further information about the position, please contact:

Dr Mehreen Gul (m.gul@hw.ac.uk)

Please see the link below for more details.  

How to Apply 

Applications with FULL CV (and Cover letter) can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Monday, 6^th January 2025.

Shortlisting is anticipated in that week and interviews are anticipated to be conducted w/c 13^th January 2025.

At Heriot-Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together.

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