Research Associate in Material Circularity

We have an exciting opportunity in the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering for someone with a passion for driving sustainability and circularity in construction and the built environment.  It is ideally suited to someone looking to use their skills in chemical, process, civil, or structural engineering, materials science, or another relevant discipline, to make an impact on resource efficiency and  materials circularity within the built environment, supporting the UK’s transition to a circular economy.

This project aims to develop a UK-wide unified circularity framework to match material and element stocks, identified by UK building stock characterisation and waste and resource flows, with the most appropriate end uses, with key case studies involving cement and concrete. The project will also assess the environmental and economic impact of these matched end use cases.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about sustainability and circularity in the built environment, and hold or be close to completion of a PhD (or have equivalent experience) in chemical, process, civil, or structural engineering, materials science, or another relevant discipline, giving broad knowledge of materials circularity and decarbonisation strategies for the built environment, particularly as relevant to cement and concrete. They will also have knowledge and experience of material flow analysis, life cycle assessment and technoeconomic assessment methodologies.

The post holder will work in the Sustainable Materials at Sheffield (SMASH) research team in the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering.

This project constitutes part of the 5-year BuildZero programme, a £6 million project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). BuildZero aims to develop a detailed vision of more sustainable building practices, through a five year project led by Sheffield in partnership with the University of Bath, The University of Manchester, Cardiff University, the University of Cambridge and industrial collaborators.

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.

We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

Advert information