Research Associate: Structural Optimization in a Circular Economy

Job description:

We have an exciting new opportunity in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering for a Research Associate to use their skills on structural optimization to develop practical digital tools to optimise the use of the structure and space within existing buildings.  

You will join the BuildZero team in Sheffield, which is part of a large, multidisciplinary team, working with researchers across the Universities of Bath, Cambridge, Cardiff and Manchester as part of a £6.4m Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded award that will develop a detailed vision of more sustainable building practices. More information on the project can be found at https://www.buildzero.ac.uk/.

Educated to PhD level in a related subject area (e.g. structural optimization, circular construction) or equivalent professional background, you will have experience in programming and an ability to analyse and solve complex engineering problems with an appreciation of longer-term implications. As you will be responsible for developing novel layout optimization methods for coupled analysis and design of extended or modified structures, experience of optimization using mathematical programming approaches would be an advantage.

The key duties of the role include:  

• Develop novel layout optimization methods for coupled analysis and design of extended or modified structures, e.g. vertical extensions, change of use and more intensive use.
• Develop structural optimization approaches where the scenario can be given in terms of space requirements rather than precise span/room dimensions.
• Apply these approaches to archetypal structural forms based on data from other BuildZero work packages, making the necessary changes to apply the methods to a generalised problem instead of a specific building.
• Use datasets from other BuildZero work packages to scale these findings and assess potential capacities at a national level. 
• Integrate the methods developed into existing codebases in a maintainable and extensible fashion

In addition, there will be an expectation that there will be collaborative working across the partners, leading to the production and delivery of research outputs, with an opportunity to disseminate at both national and international conferences.

What We Offer

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university. We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities,a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

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