Research Associate in Numerical Modelling and Space Science

This post offers an excellent opportunity to contribute to a high-profile project focused on the development of the Solar Atmospheric Modelling Suite (SAMS) — a next-generation, modular simulation framework for the solar atmosphere. SAMS is being designed to incorporate world-leading physics capabilities and enable time-dependent, non-LTE radiative transfer magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. The framework will be released as open-source software, with a strong emphasis on accessibility, flexibility, scalability, and scientific rigour.

Accurate modelling of the solar atmosphere is essential for understanding the energy flow and accumulation that underpin the heating of the solar chromosphere and corona, and for uncovering the mechanisms that drive eruptions and flares. To achieve this, a numerical model must capture the fundamental physical, radiative, and ionisation states of the Sun’s vastly different atmospheric layers, as well as the complex coupling between them.

Funded by the STFC, SAMS brings together researchers from the Universities of Sheffield, Exeter, Cambridge, and Warwick. The code will be developed to ensure world-class physics capabilities, maintaining the UK’s solar physics community at the forefront of international research and enabling full exploitation of next-generation observations and Exascale computing.
We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join this ambitious project. You should hold, or be close to completing, a PhD in a relevant field such as applied or pure mathematics, physics, control engineering, or computer science (or have equivalent experience).

You will join both the SAMS consortium and the internationally renowned Plasma Dynamics Group within the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Sheffield. They will play a key role in both the computational development and scientific application of SAMS, contributing to the School’s and the project’s international reputation in solar physics and data-driven modelling.

The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) belongs to the prestigious Faculty of Engineering, which is one of the largest academic communities of engineers in the UK, ranked joint 1st in the UK for Research Environment in the last Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). Our specific discipline (EEE) is also ranked very highly, which is a marker of our excellence and ambition (QS 2024: 11th in UK, The Guardian 2024: 3rd, The Times Higher 2024: 7th in the UK).
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 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.

Find out more at www.sheffield.ac.uk/benefits and join us to become part of something special.

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