Research Fellow

Salary: Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,130 to £45,413 with potential progression once in post to £48,149

Contract Type: Fixed Term contract up to December 2026

Background

The School of Chemical Engineering is seeking a Research Fellow with a background of Soft Matter at Surfaces and Interfaces, to address a series of fundamental challenges underpinning strategies for designing antimicrobial nanocoatings.

Building on a series of previous work (Qi et al. ACS Appl. Mater. Interface In press, DOI:10.1021/acsami.2c23251; Avila-Sierra et al. Surf. Coating Technol. 2023, 452, 129054; Avila-Sierra et al. ACS Appl. Mater. Interface 2021, 13, 35506), the Soft Matter Engineering group is leading an European research consortium in developing sustainable antimicrobial surface coating (https://www.supreme-project.eu).

Main Duties

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods 
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

• First degree in area of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or relevant subjects and normally, a higher degree relevant to Surface Science, Colloidal Science, Surface Engineering or equivalent qualifications
• High level analytical capability
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones. Fundamental knowledge concerning surface wetting, spreading would be essential to the project. Expertise in surface functionalisation using physical and/or chemical approach is highly desirable
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively 
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly

Informal enquiries can be made to Claire Moran, email: c.e.moran.1@bham.ac.uk 

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

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We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working

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