Research Fellow in Plant Acoustics (biology-focus)

About the project

You will join an interdisciplinary project delivered through a collaboration between the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the School of Biological Sciences, and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southampton.

The project addresses fundamental questions about how plants generate and respond to sound and what role sound may play in stress responses, below-ground processes and pollination. The research combines controlled experiments, advanced measurement and multiphysics modelling, and will generate open datasets and workflows to catalyse the emerging field of plant acoustics.

We are recruiting a Research Fellow with a biology background to lead controlled plant growth and biological measurement campaigns, working closely with acoustics and modelling colleagues. They will have experience with plants, microbiomes, and bees/pollinators.

Key accountabilities / duties

You will:

• Design and execute controlled plant growth and stress-response programmes across model crops.
• Deliver high-quality measurements of plant physiology and growth under defined environmental and acoustic conditions.
• Lead below-ground sampling and analyses, including root phenotyping/architecture assessment and root evaluation.
• Undertake rhizosphere-related measurements including root exudates and the collection and analysis of the root microbiome
• Set up pollination trials, including recording bee sounds, and acoustic stimulation. Contribute to reproductive/pollination-linked measures including nectar and pollen metrics.
• Work closely with the acoustics PDRA to align biological protocols with measurement requirements, and with the modelling PDRA to support model parameterisation and interpretation of simulation results.
• Maintain accurate experimental records, contribute to data curation and support and lead publication and dissemination activities.

Candidate requirements

Essential

• PhD (or near completion) or equivalent qualifications and experience in Plant Biology, Plant Physiology, Microbiology, or a closely related discipline.
• Demonstrable experience designing and running controlled environment plant experiments.
• Experience with bee behavioural experimental design and implementation.
• Experience with handling roots, particularly for rhizosphere collection or exudate collection
• Experience with microbiome data or other similar omics datasets
• Strong quantitative skills and ability to manage and analyse experimental datasets.
• Ability to work collaboratively across disciplines and communicate methods and findings clearly.

Desirable

• Experience measuring root traits (root architecture metrics)
• Experience with metabolomics and volatile analyses
• Experience working with interdisciplinary teams involving engineering/physics measurement or modelling.

This post is aiming to start from June 2026 (by agreement).

For informal enquiries please contact Dr. William King W.L.King@soton.ac.uk

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