Research Fellow in Engineering Economics - Civil, Maritime & Environmental Engineering

You will join the Transportation Research Group (TRG) at the University of Southampton that comprises of interdisciplinary experts in transportation engineering, economics and human factors. You will join a vibrant team of other researchers and graduate students working on wide range of applications.

You will be supervised by the Head of Group, Professor John Preston, and will work on Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded ACHILLES project (Assessment, Costing and Enhancement of Long Life Linear Assets). This is a Programme Grant led by the University of Newcastle, in conjunction with universities at Bath, Durham, Leeds, Loughborough and Southampton, as well as the British Geological Survey 1 . You will work with an interdisciplinary team of civil engineers and computer scientists on developing models that can forecast the economic impacts of the deterioration of earthworks (cuttings and embankments) and identify appropriate interventions with respect to maintenance and renewals. You will develop Whole Life Cost models of such interventions to determine optimal strategies. An initial fast track analysis will be undertaken of rail and road routes in the London to Bristol corridor which will then be generalised to other Long-lived Linear Assets. A key aspect will be the determination of the financial and social costs of delays as a result of asset failure. Network performance will be assessed using the National Infrastructure Systems Model (NISMOD), the transport component of which was developed at the University of Southampton. Risks and uncertainty (including those linked to climate change) will be assessed using Bayesian hierarchies and ensembles of Monte Carlo Simulations.

It is essential that you have completed (or are about to complete) a PhD with a focus on Civil Engineering, Economics or a related numerate discipline. You will have good skills in big data analytics and programming skills including knowledge of one or more of Python, Java and FLAC. Prior experience with High Performance Computing would be desirable, along with an emerging record of publications in high quality journals and conferences.

Applications for Research Fellow positions will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification. The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of the PhD. Prior to the qualification being awarded the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given.

Informal enquiries are welcomed before or during the application process. Please contact Professor John Preston ( J.M.Preston@soton.ac.uk ) for further details about the position.

We aim to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.