Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Meshless Numerical Methods (Fluid Mechanics) - Chemical Engineering

Position Details

School of Chemical Engineering

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £31,406 to £40,927, with potential progression once in post to £43,434.

Grade 7

Full Time, Permanent contract until 31.12.2022.

Closing date: 1st December 2021

Background

We seek to employ a postdoctoral research fellow in support of our activities in the generation of in vitro and in silico microvasculature models to mimic various states of disease and trauma. We are running a research programme which looks to improve diagnosis of Acute Compartment Syndrome (ACS), a condition which is characterised by swelling of a compartment in the body (usually muscle) which causes microvasculature collapse followed by necrosis of the tissue. We seek a candidate with expertise in the use of meshless methods such as smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and discrete element modelling (DEM) to tackle multiscale modelling challenges of this type, which are complementary to our experimental work programme which employs microfluidic models for the microvasculature.

The work forms part of an EPSRC Programme Grant, PREMIERE, joint with Imperial College London and University College London. The candidate will be expected to attend and present at various meetings associated with this Programme Grant and lead on cohort driven activities as appropriate. The successful candidate will be expected to communicate and exploit their research findings for example through submission of papers to learned journals and presentation at conferences.

The successful candidate will be supported by the University's sector leading development programmes and have access to the best financial and physical resources, a beautiful campus and an intellectually stimulating and diverse community. The successful candidate should have a first degree and a PhD, or equivalent experience in chemical engineering or a related discipline.

Role Summary

• Plan, design and co-ordinate research activities and programmes related to the EPSRC PREMIERE programme grant
• Contribute to the development of research strategies and future funding bids related to healthcare technologies aspects of the PREMIERE programme grant
• Interpret findings and disseminate research results e.g. in steering meetings, conferences and in learned journals
• Guide PhD students and supervise MSc/MEng research student projects
• Contribute to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement activities, widening participation, schools outreach or similar activities at School level or further within the University

Main Duties

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required related to the PREMIERE project
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication at leading conferences and at research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Generate biorelevant computational models using meshless methods as part of the PREMIERE work programme
• Analyse and interpret data from computational models and compare and validate against experimental and physiological data
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines

Person Specification

• First degree in areas of Chemical or Mechanical Engineering with computational specialism and a PhD equivalent degree in meshless fluid flow modelling methods such as smooth particle hydrodynamics or discrete element modelling
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant meshless fluid mechanical models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort

Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Mark Simmons at m.j.simmons@bham.ac.uk