Postdoctoral Research Associate Social Science

The Role and Department

The Department of Engineering is consistently one of the very best UK engineering departments with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability of our students. The Department is ranked 4th in the Complete University Guide, 5th in the Guardian University Guide and 6th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 in the UK for General Engineering. Ranked in the top six in the UK for overall profile in REF 2021 (with 95% of publications rated as 4* and 3*), this Department is an excellent place to work. The strategic vision for the Department includes a growth plan of over 50% over the next five years, with a significant! enhancem ent of the research challenge portfolio and a drive to enrich our undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research provision. It is an exciting time to join this expanding Department and make your mark.

Led by Professor Tony Roskilly, the Thermal Energy Systems Group in the Engineering Department consists of 23 staff members ranging from academic, post-doctoral research staff, administration, and technical personnel. A number of researchers from Anthropology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Biological Science and Durham University Business School also support the Group’s collaborative research activities directly. The group has a successful track record of attracting funding, primarily from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, EU and industry. The group’s themes include energy system integration, decarbonisation of heating and cooling; industrial decarbonisation; hydrogen fuelled transportation; engine technology; energy storage; and thermochemical ! energy sy stems.

The Role

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Social Science, working with colleagues in both Engineering and Anthropology with a particular emphasis on energy policy and regulation, planning and development, to work on projects in collaboration with a range of stakeholders.

The successful applicant will primarily work on two multidisciplinary projects within the Group’s portfolio. For an EPSRC funded project they will contribute to research on the governance issues surrounding the design and implementation of hydrogen energy centres, including relevant planning, policy, and regulatory aspects for potential commercial, industrial, and urban sites. They will coordinate workshops and engagement with end users and explore the potential challenges with developing energy hubs. For a Horizon Europe project they will contribute to critical research around the notion of ‘social acceptance of technology’, co-design and governance of integrated energy systems. The role includes support for research on stakeholders, social impact, non-energy costs, market! integrat ion and governance of integrated energy systems at pilot sites in Denmark, Norway, and Portugal.

The successful applicant will be expected to organise and conduct primary research, working closely with the work-package leader in the department of Anthropology. They will take direction from Prof Simone Abram (Anthropology) in relation to the various work packages but will be line managed by Prof Tony Roskilly (Engineering). As such, there is an expectation that the successful candidate will work across disciplinary boundaries and engage with internal and external colleagues involved in the projects. They will have primary responsibility for empirical fieldwork, collection and analysis of data and for the production of publishable outputs, as well as regular reports to the project partners.

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