Agenda-Setting Fellows: High Performance Computing

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) - Head Office

Salary: You will remain on your current salary

Hours: Part time (2.5 days a week)

Contract Type: Fixed Term Secondment (9 months)

Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire.

NERC have launched a new scheme to embed high-quality scientific expertise and advice into our work and support future commissioning and research opportunities. We will second up to three Agenda-Setting Fellows each year, in areas of strategic and/or scientific need. The Fellowships will last approximately 9 months, in order to:

• Build knowledge within NERC of the cutting edge in areas of strategic importance;
• Develop robust evidence to underpin our current and future activities;
• Provide a wider pool of expertise for NERC engagement and advocacy in the community; and
• Deepen our relationship with the community (including researchers and wider stakeholders) by embedding excellence in NERC.

High Performance Computing

This Fellowship will focus on developing understanding of NERC and the environmental science community’s needs from large scale computing, including hardware, software, and algorithms. Large scale computing, such as that supported by NERC-UKRI, enables environmental scientists to perform complex calculations or simulations to conduct research that is increasingly pushing the frontiers of science and innovation. As the size and complexity of data sets and models grow, and contemporary data science changes how we do environmental science, the compute needs of the environmental science community will change and grow. Furthermore, new compute architectures and technologies, including exascale and pre-exascale systems, and the new software required to use them, have the potential to open up new approaches to environmental science.
The Fellow will be expected to:

1. Conduct a review of the current landscape: To help NERC realise the ambitions set out in the Digital Strategy, the fellow will engage the NERC community to understand the current UK and international landscape of compute, including software, hardware, and algorithms, available to environmental scientists. In doing so the fellow will identify potential gaps and opportunities in the NERC portfolio.

2. Develop an evidence base to build an effective picture of environmental science computational needs and opportunities.

3. Assist NERC in developing a forward-looking strategy: using the evidence gathered, the fellow will provide recommendations to NERC to inform and develop a strategic plan for the next decade for the compute needs and opportunities of the environmental science community and potential recommendations for NERC-UKRI’s role in delivering them. This plan will encompass both the pioneering computation and the resource and capability aspects.

Assessment

Assessment of candidates will be made against the following criteria:

1. Demonstration of a deep understanding of the identified focus area to identify scope and programme of work for secondment;Demonstration of strong networks into the community to engage proactively with relevant organisations, relevant networks/centres, broader stakeholders and learned societies (to identify and engage expertise on priority questions/themes);
2. Evidence of sharing best practice/learnings from other disciplines/sectors;
3. Evidence of understanding of NERC priorities and funding mechanisms including wider UKRI opportunities and context.
4. Evidence of transformative thinking on a topic/in a research or agenda area

Please click apply to see the full details and application process for this role.

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