KTP Associate in Advancing Self-Healing Concrete Solutions for Wastewater Infrastructure

Job description:

The Role

Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) and Newcastle University are offering an exciting opportunity to develop the use of self-healing cementitious materials for sustainable enhancement and durability of concrete structures in the water sector. You will be part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project which aims to bridge the gap in understanding how self-healing materials perform beyond the laboratory, enabling collaboration between the academic team and the company to evaluate and optimize the technology's performance in real-world environments.

NWG provides water and sewerage services to 2.7 million people in the North East of England as Northumbrian Water, and water services to 1.5 million people in the South East of England as Essex & Suffolk Water. NWG is proud to serve its customers and is committed to delivering great service, putting its customers at the heart of everything it does.

NWG strives to be a Great Place to Work, for all. It embraces and values Diversity, Inclusion and Equity and encourages you to bring your full self to work. NWG is committed to having a diverse community represented across its business.

You will assess self-healing concrete's alignment with NWL business goals and analyse economic benefits. You will review regulatory requirements and oversee the construction and installation of a pilot structure and its monitoring. You will also work on embedding advanced modelling techniques into current process simulations to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency.

Based at NWG Durham, you will work closely with an interdisciplinary team from Newcastle University's School of Engineering, led by Dr Dana Ofiteru and Prof Jaime Amezaga, Additionally, you will benefit from the guidance of Prof. Kevin Paine from the University of Bath, a leading UK researcher in self-healing concrete. You will also be supported by a senior supervisor from NWG.

The role is fixed term for 24 months.

Candidates should have a PhD in chemical, biochemical, environmental or civil engineering, or related fields, including an understanding of modelling biological processes.

Benefits:

• Develop managerial skills and attend two residential managerial workshops (each of one-week duration)
• £4,000 personal training budget
• The opportunity to lead a project, develop project management skills and improve long-term career prospects
• Mentoring by a Knowledge Transfer Network Adviser
• Full access to university resources to complete the project
• Ability to work in a largely self-determined way, across the industry-academic partnership
• Opportunities to develop both technical understanding and commercial awareness
• The possibility of studying for a higher degree or undertaking professional development

The KTP Associate will be an employee of Newcastle University but will spend most of their working time at the company's premises at Northumbria House, Abbey Road, Pity Me, Durham, DH1 5FJ and when required at Newcastle University. Although the contract is fixed term for a duration of 2 years, more than 70% of KTP staff gain a permanent job offer by their KTP company.

For more information or informal enquiries, please contact Dr Dana Ofiteru at Dana.Ofiteru@newcastle.ac.uk or Prof Jaime Amezaga at Jaime.Amezaga@newcastle.ac.uk.

For further details on the Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering please visit our web page at: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/sage/ 

For further details about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships please visit the web page at: http://www.ktp-uk.org/

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