Research Fellow (Refrigeration)

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full Time, Fixed Term for up to 2 years

Background

The role is an opportunity to join a major global research team at the Centre for Sustainable Cooling, working in the UK and internationally and leading the development of the new multi-million pound Centres of Excellence being established in Africa and India. Temperature controlled cooling for supply chains are central to many aspects of a modern society and underpin socio-economic growth and wellbeing as well as a population’s health, food systems and access to nutritional food and prevention of food loss and waste within the supply chains; protection and increase of farmer/rural in comes.
 
Summary of Role

Research

• Develop fit for market and purpose strategies and solutions for cooling and cold-chain refrigeration in both the developing and developed world including developing the novel and economic business model identifying and evidencing new radical innovations.
• Identify, analyse and forecast challenges from technology, cost, regulation and skills of the zero/low-carbon refrigeration solutions. 
• Identify and create strategies to address in-country barriers for uptake and scale-up the refrigeration solutions such as technology implementation, affordability, skills and capacity, regulations etc.

Outputs

• Demonstration and implementation of the refrigeration solutions in country, including business models and policies working with the Living Labs at our Centres of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling in Africa and India.
• Organise and deliver impact and dissemination activities with a wide range of stakeholders including policy-makers, inter-Governmental Development Agencies and Non governmental organisations.
• Collaborate with partners and universities in data collection and analysis, workshop organisation, writing reports and academic publications.
• Developing and making substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, public engagement activities, widening participation or similar activities within the University and through the Centre for Sustainable Cooling

Main Duties/Responsibilities

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Collect research data, both quantitative and qualitative; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as literature reviews, research interviews and workshops.
• Robust techno-economic analysis of data, following ethical guidelines for data collection and analysis.
• Contribute to developing new modelling, business models, techniques and methods.
• Lead technology demonstration and implementation in Living Labs.
• Contribute to developing teaching and training modules.
• Write up research output into high-quality reports and academic papers for publication.
• Present findings in high-quality conferences, workshops and meetings both in the UK and overseas.
• Contribute to the administration/management of activities associated with the project.
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding.

Person Specification 

• A higher degree relevant to the research area, in particular engineering, economics or relevant interdisciplinary field, (usually PhD) or equivalent qualifications.
• Research interest/expertise in sustainable and resilient food/health cold-chain and wider refrigeration systems along with directly linked global challenges such as food and nutrition security, access to clean energy, rural development, poverty alleviation and access to health services.

Informal enquiries to Prof Toby Peters, t.peters@bham.ac.uk

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