PDRA - Whispers of Time: Heritage as Narratives of Climate-Change

The Role and Department  

The Department of Engineering consistently stands as one of the foremost engineering departments in the UK, renowned for its exceptional performance in teaching, research, and the successful career paths of its students. Its impressive achievements include an 4^th rank in the Complete University Guide 2025, 6^th in the Guardian University Guide 2025, and 6^th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 for Engineering in the UK. The Department also secured a position within the top six UK departments in the REF 2021 assessment, with an outstanding publicati on rating of 4* and 3*. The Department proudly holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award, a testament to its dedication to promoting diversity amongst STEM academics, and fostering a nurturing and encouraging atmosphere. The individual taking up this position will become a part of the (GEER) Node within the Department of Engineering. The GEER node is a multidisciplinary research node consisting of staff dedicated to conducting specialized research focused on topics such as sustainable development, water resource management, flood warning, disaster management, rebuilding soil health, land remediation, air quality control, water treatment, and carbon capture and storage, for example.

We are looking to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate on an 11 month fixed-term project to join our team at the Department of Engineering, GEER node, to work on the WRENCH project, which has the twofold goal of (a) developing a transformative transdisciplinary methodology involving environmental sciences, engineering, and humanities to investigate the impact of climate change on material and immaterial heritage, and (b) employing heritage as storytelling tools to make the risks of climate chan ge visible and enhance awareness. WRENCH's transdisciplinary methodology will entail:

• Applying advanced generation climate models to carry out data analysis related to climate change, including retrieving historical and future projections of necessary hydrometeorological variables (e.g., temperature, wind, relative humidity, temperature)
• Investigating the effect of extreme environmental conditions on historical materials and structures by in-situ physical testing, development of rheological models accounting for them, and advanced structural modelling.
• Assessing the effect of climate change on immaterial heritage by historical methodologies (archival research, oral history, audiovisual materials) and participatory research. The involvement of local communities will be vital in developing this task.
• Developing a holistic framework for evaluating climate change on cultural heritage.

The successful candidate should show initiative and independent thinking, possess excellent communication and organisational skills, and have the ability to work effectively both individually and as part of a team. The candidate should be a good communicator with a flexible attitude with an interest in data processing. The candidate will be supervised and mentored by Professor Osman and Dr Bartolomeo Panto.

Applicants should have a PhD in a relevant discipline (Civil or Structural Engineering) as well as expertise in computational mechanics, numerical modelling, coding, and experience of structural analysis of masonry materials. However, if you fit outside this expertise and feel you are a great candidate for the role please do apply.

Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by 1 April 2025.

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.

Advert information