Research Assistant/Associate in Novel Materials for Stratospheric Aerosol Injection - Dispersal(Fixed Term)

A position exists, for a Research Assistant/Associate in the Department of Engineering, to work on Novel Materials for Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (Dispersal).

The post holder will be located in Central Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK.

The key responsibilities and duties will be to first explore the range of possible non-sulphate aerosols - mostly powdered ceramics with different coatings to allow dispersion - and develop a system to disperse the particles.

The project will explore the options for dispersion and the options for nozzle design and whether substantial additional air supply is needed to avoid abrasion and agglomeration. A small-scale experiment will be devised to explore some of the complexities. There will be issues of supersonic flow and how the presence of an abrasive fluid affects the design of the nozzle.  The work will include the design of a scale- up dispersion system and perhaps the construction of a large-scale dispersion system which can be tested at ground level.  There is no plan to test any device in the stratosphere.

Teaching/learning support, networking and planning the use of resources also takes up a small portion of this position.

The skills, qualifications and experience required to perform the role will include a good working knowledge of fluid mechanics and compressible flow.  It will be helpful to have a working knowledge of multi-phase flows in particular abrasive slurries. The applicant will have obtained or be close to obtaining a PhD or have some years of relevant industrial experience in Chemical Engineering, Colloid Science, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Science or Applied Maths - with fluid mechanics included as part of the study.

Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level, which will be amended to Research Associate once the PhD has been awarded.

Salary Ranges:

Research Assistant: £32,546 - £35,116

Research Associate: £37,174 - £45,413

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 10 June 2028 in the first instance.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click the 'Apply' button above. 

To apply for this vacancy, you need upload two (2) CVs (Curriculum Vitae) in different formats: a Narrative CV and your standard CV (full details in the Further Particulars). 

This is a real vacancy that is being studied as part of the Action Research on Research Culture project (ARRC, https://www.arrc.group.cam.ac.uk/).

The ARRC team are investigating the effects of CV format on shortlisting. If you consent to take part in the study, the ARRC team will use information from the shortlisting process to understand the impact of different CV formats. The recruiting academic will not be told whether you have joined the study so your choice about whether to take part in the study cannot influence the decision on who to appoint. Further details can be found in the 'Further particulars' document. If you have questions about the ARRC project, please contact: arrcproject@admin.cam.ac.uk

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Professor Hugh Hunt (hemh1@cam.ac.uk) for enquiries of a technical nature and Liz Howard (div-c@eng.cam.ac.uk) for queries related to the application process.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

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