Research Associate/Fellow in Digital Twins for Sustainable Glass Manufacturing

Location: Aston University Main Campus

Contract Type: Fixed Term (31/12/2026)

Aston University has been awarded a 4 year (2023 -2027) collaborative Horizon Europe project, H2GLASS: Advancing Hydrogen (H2) Technologies and Smart Production Systems to Decarbonize the Glass and Aluminum Sectors in consortium with 23 partners across UK and Europe. The H2GLASS project aims to accelerate decarbonization in the glass and aluminum industries by developing and applying the technology stack needed to achieve full hydrogen combustion in glass production facilities.

The project encompasses the following key components:

• Digital manufacturing solutions for sustainable glass production, including burners, furnaces, and downstream production processes.
• Cost and value chain evaluation and optimization of hydrogen supply for glass manufacturing.
• Validate H2GLASS technology through application in industrial context.

Aston University is involved in two main tasks within the project:

1. Modelling and cost evaluation of the hydrogen value chain: This task supports decision-making in hydrogen supply and related operations within the glass production process.
2. Digital twins of downstream glass production processes: This task evaluates the impact of adopting hydrogen in downstream glass production processes, and develop adaptive control to the process to optimise outputs such as quality, productivity, and efficiency.

This is the second of two posts related to this project at Aston University. The role includes developing digital twins of downstream glass production processes, studying the impact of various process parameters on production outputs, and developing control strategies and algorithms to optimise the outputs, including quality, productivity, and efficiency etc. Close collaboration with the first post is expected to ensure synergy and alignment between the two tasks within the project.

You will need to have strong research background and experience with a PhD degree in the relevant fields, such as production engineering, digital manufacturing, chemical engineering, process simulation and control. You will be comfortable working on interdisciplinary and collaborative projects and be willing to be adaptive and learn new skills as required by projects needs and long-term strategic research vision. Good skills on project planning and management, team working, and communication are required. You are expected to be enthusiastic, proactive in planning research, designing, and developing technical solutions as per the project needs, produce high quality research outputs and publications, contributing to IP and research income generation. 

This role is likely to meet the criteria for endorsement under the ‘Endorsed Funder’ route of the Global Talent visa. The Global Talent visa route is available for talented and promising academics, researchers and specialists who are working in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, the social sciences or the humanities. Please see the published Home Office guidance: https://www.gov.uk/global-talent.

Closing Date: 23.59 hours GMT on Monday 27 January 2025

Interview Date: Wednesday 26 February 2025

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