07 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

The Quantum Photonics Laboratory seeks a talented and motivated scientist to start a new line of research on integrated platforms for novel quantum devices using rare-earth doped crystals for quantum memory applications. Significant goals include 

• the characterization of the optical/spin properties of different crystals, 
• manipulation and optimization of their electronic and spin coherence through complex optical and MW sequences, 
• implementation of quantum memory protocols in both bulk crystals and waveguide structures, 
• integration of MW circuits.

The project is expected to lead to high impact scientific publications and to technological developments related to integrated quantum photonic devices for quantum communication and computation.  The work will be conducted in the framework of a recently funded EPSRC grant involving world-leading partners working on waveguide fabrication and electrical engineering. It will be carried out under the supervision of Prof Margherita Mazzera, who is principal investigator of the funded project.

PDRA to complete the work described in an Impact Acceleration Award (IAA), focused on the commercialisation of research work relating to the development of an automated water monitoring system for protozoan pathogens. Sample processing is a major challenge in the monitoring of waterborne pathogens. 

This project will design and develop improved systems for sample processing, particularly focusing on detection of Cryptosporidium.  The work is focused on optimization of process parameters to maximise performance and investigate limits of operation. Additionally, the work involves an element system integration to adapt an existing technology to create a sample processing unit, with a high recovery rate, that operates in an automated fashion. 

TransiT is the UK’s largest research hub dedicated to rapidly decarbonising transport through digital twinning. Led by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Glasgow, this £46 million initiative unites 8 universities and 67 industry partners to address transport decarbonisation. TransiT will create a Federated Transport System of Systems (FTSoS), integrating digital twins across road, rail, air, and maritime transport modes. By leveraging real-time data and advanced modelling, in collaboration with industry and all research partners, TransiT will identify the most cost-effective, energy-efficient pathways to net-zero emissions for policymakers and industry actors, while ensuring accessibility and resilience for all stakeholders involved. The programme includes a team of 27 research associates across 8 universities who will deliver this ambitious research. 

We seek an ambitious and creative postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) for a period of 6 months, starting in April 2025 or soon thereafter.

The PDRA will be working within the auspices of the WIDERA consortium project BEYOND (Beyond Bad Apples: Towards A Behavioural and Evidence-Based Approach To Promote Research Ethics And Research Integrity In Europe) under the guidance of Dr Daniele Fanelli, in a nascent Metascience Lab located in the School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University.

With the overall objective of advancing Metascience and helping scientific progress of all disciplines, the PDRA will actively contribute to the development and testing of new methods to measure the complexity of scientific studies, using a combination of Natural Language Processing, Graphical Knowledge Representation, and other techniques. 

This position of PDRA – DEMOs for Net Zero drives the research innovation, impact, demonstration and acceleration of the Transition Engineering Lab Shift Projects through design, build and test of cyber infrastructure for co-investigation with decision makers and stakeholder engagement activities within the Islands Centre for Net Zero (ICNZ).  The ICNZ comprises a partnership with EMEC, Aquatera, Community Energy Scotland and the Islands Councils of Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides. It is focused on developing theoretical, process, technical, operational and policy interventions that will deliver the UKs net zero ambition by 2030. This position is temporary but may be extended if funding becomes available.  

The ICNZ Transition Engineering Lab action research programme is currently a small group with 4 PhD students, 1 post doctoral researcher under the directorship of Professor Susan Krumdieck, and involving 5 academics at the Orkney campus, a dedicated Research Coordinator, and a number of collaborators in the International Net Zero Research Centre (iNetZ+) across Heriot-Watt University. Its international reach is represented by relationships with colleagues in Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand, USA and Africa. In the next year the research group will grow by 3 more PhD students, a full professor, an assistant professor, and a project assistant.