Postdoctoral Research Associate

About the Role

You will develop and apply novel computational methods to quantify the societal impact of fundamental science discoveries. Candidates close to completion of their PhD will initially be appointed in the junior research training zone of the salary scales (Grade 4; £37,889 - £38,483, before this increases upon PhD completion).

About You

You will be passionate about science, including defending the cultural value of knowledge for its own sake. You will also possess computational expertise in data mining and / or analysis, ideally including language processing, and be able to work with an interdisciplinary team of researchers. You will have excellent communication skills, and the ability to explain complex ideas to a variety of different stakeholders, including policy makers.

About the Project

You will join the Leverhulme Trust Research Project “Who cares about fundamental science?”, which aims to develop new ways of measuring the societal impact of fundamental science. The project will mine online data (from e.g. social media, news websites, online encyclopaedias, discussion fora), and analyse this to look for changes in public behaviour following scientific discoveries.

This may include evidencing:

1. which scientific discoveries are more impactful than others;
2. whether public attitudes to science change over time;
3. how the public learn and talk about science;
4. how different target groups respond to science.

This is the first large-scale study of its kind, and your results will establish a legacy of scientists working with funding councils to defend their research. Cutting-edge machine learning techniques will be used, including Large Language Models (LLMs).

About Queen Mary

At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable.

Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers.

We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

Benefits

We offer competitive salaries, access to a generous pension scheme, 30 days’ leave per annum (pro-rata for part-time/fixed-term), a season ticket loan scheme and access to a comprehensive range of personal and professional development opportunities. In addition, we offer a range of work life balance and family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, and campus facilities.

Queen Mary’s commitment to our diverse and inclusive community is embedded in our appointments processes. Reasonable adjustments will be made at each stage of the recruitment process for any candidate with a disability. We are open to considering applications from candidates wishing to work flexibly.

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