Salary: £31,066 – £33,641 (Postdoctoral Research Associate)
+ 45 days holiday in a full year (inclusive of 14 public/general holidays)
+ Enrolment into Local Government Superannuation Scheme
The Environmental Research Institute (ERI) is part of UHI North Highland. Located in Thurso, on the north coast of Scotland, the ERI is close to many outstanding marine resources with excellent proximity to marine energy sites for research and innovation opportunities. Sustainable use of these wind, wave and tidal stream resources is key to achieving ambitious Scottish and international renewable energy targets.
An opportunity has arisen to investigate the behaviour of legacy particles within the marine environment of the Pentland Firth. The successful candidate will undertake hydrodynamic modelling to understand how particles of varying compositions move under the combined forces of currents and waves. Using state of the art computing facility and with easy access to the site at Dounreay, this study will contribute to critical work by Dounreay -a division of Magnox Limited to address the legacy of radioactive particles that periodically wash up on beaches next to the site.
Dounreay – a division of Magnox Limited is funding this research through UHI North Highland, as part of important work to close Dounreay and future-proof environmental planning. Nuclear fuel was reprocessed at the site for almost 40 years. Metallic fragments, a product of post Irradiation Experimentation operations, entered the site’s drainage system and were discharged to the sea. It is the behaviour of these residual metallic fragments which forms the basis of this study.
The successful applicant will be based at the ERI, UHI North Highland, Thurso, in the north of Scotland, and will visit the Dounreay site periodically. As such any offer will be subject to the candidate first obtaining site security clearance from Dounreay-a division of Magnox Limited. This is a joint project between Dounreay-a division of Magnox Limited and ERI, UHI North Highland, benefitting from industrial support and shared experience of staff.
The successful applicant should be UK- based with the right to work in the UK to facilitate the BPSS security clearance process. Applicants should have experience in hydrodynamic modelling and relevant software.
This is a 2- year fully funded position with access to high powered computing facility and working alongside a multi-disciplinary team of environmental scientists. There are also funds available to undertake a fieldwork campaign.
Multi-disciplinary experience, knowledge of programming languages such as MATLAB or Python, and a full driving license are desirable.
Experience can be exemplified by:
- Research outputs (papers, presentations, etc.)
- Research grants and/or knowledge exchange and innovation activity
- Contributing to postgraduate supervision
- Commercial or consultancy activity
Informal enquires can be made to Dr Jason McIlvenny, jason.mcilvenny@uhi.ac.uk
Interested in applying? Please download an application pack (a CV alone will not be accepted, but may accompany your application) and send to NHCHR@uhi.ac.uk
If you have any queries about the application process please contact NHCHR@uhi.ac.uk
