Postdoctoral Research Associate

The Role

Applications are invited for a three-year postdoctoral position within the Applied Mathematics research group, to start in July 2025. The position is funded by a UKRI/STFC grant to investigate the “Solar wind outflow and open flux”. Candidates with a strong track record in solar magnetic field modelling, and/or familiarity with solar observational data, are particularly encouraged to apply. The position will be under the direction of Professor Anthony Yeates and will primarily involve optimisation of a numerical magnetic field model for the global solar magnetic field against observatio nal data.

This post is fixed term for three-years as it is funded by a UKRI/STFC research grant.

The post-holder is employed to work on a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

Successful applicants will, ideally, start on 1^st July 2025. (STFC have indicated that the finish date of 30^th June 2028 cannot be extended.)

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

Qualifications

• A good first degree in Mathematics, Physics or a related subject.
• A PhD (or be close to submission) in Applied Mathematics, Solar Physics, or a related subject.

Experience

• Experience in conducting high quality academic research.
• Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.
• Demonstrable ability to present research papers at national or international conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community.
• Experience in one or more research areas relevant to the project: solar magnetic field modelling, computational fluid dynamics, or solar observational data analysis.
• Working knowledge of at least one scientific computing environment (e.g. Python, Fortran, Matlab, C++).

Skills

• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable Criteria

Experience

• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
• A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings, commensurate with stage of career.
• Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics.
• Experience in numerical modelling of the global magnetic field in the Sun’s corona.

Skills

• Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.

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