13 Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Surrey, England

We are seeking a highly motivated Research Fellow wishing to advance their career in a research-driven, interdisciplinary environment. The Fellow will support the Dr Lirong Liu in delivering the UKRI funded project Energy Demand Reduction Centre. The project offers an excellent opportunity to develop research expertise in a collaborative project by working with an interdisciplinary team involving diverse partners.

Applications are invited for a motivated post-doctoral Research Fellow to investigate associations between plant-based diets, iodine intake, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. This post will be under the direct supervision of Dr Sarah Bath, Senior Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition within the Department of Nutrition, Food, and Exercise Sciences, in the School of Biosciences. This position is fixed term, with funding for full-time post for 12 months. An office at the University of Surrey in Guildford can be available, but this role can also be completed remotely. The latest start date is 1^st January 2024, but exact date can be discussed at interview.

Applications are invited for the post of Research Fellow in the area of Quantum-Classical Solvation Hydrodynamics based at the University of Surrey. The post is funded by the Leverhulme Trust and is part of an international multidisciplinary research project entitled “Solute motion in complex fluids: mathematics and solvation dynamics”.  The programme team intend to advance our current understanding of the dynamical interaction between classical fluid solvents and the quantum solute molecules in solvation processes. 

In this project, we will investigate how future electrochemical interfaces can be designed, optimised and self-evolved throughout their entire life cycle via novel Explainable AI (XAI) and digital solutions. We will create an inverse design framework, where we use a set of desired performance indicators as input for the XAI models to generate electrochemical interface designs that satisfy the requirements, in a physically-meaningful way interpretable by us. The methodology, once developed, will tackle exemplar challenges of central importance to the net zero roadmap, which include improving current systems such as H2 production/fuel cell and CO2 reduction, but also developing new electrochemical systems which do not yet exist today at industrial scale such as N2 reduction and multi-ion energy storage. The candidate will have strong experience in developing and applying AI and digitalisation tools, especially in the area of explainable AI. They will work on developing the bespoke generative adversarial network and multi-objective reinforcement learning model as the backbone of the IDEA framework. The candidate must possess a solid understanding of AI for scientific research, and exhibit proficiency in coding and programming. Previous experience and understanding on energy and electrochemical engineering will be an advantage. The Research Fellow will be part of a large research group, aiming to accelerate the transition of the chemical industry to net zero carbon through circular approaches and electrification of processes.  The Research Fellow is expected to collaborate closely with partners on the Open Fellowship project to integrate the work packages into broad system framework. 

We are now in the second half of the programme when our three research themes have been sufficiently developed, we are looking for a research fellow to lead the work to converge and integrate our interdisciplinary research outcomes into several real-life case studies in collaboration with multiple users and stakeholders. These Co-Creative Case Studies will generate flagship exemplars and identify successful pathways to implementing circular chemical productions within a range of representative industries. The candidate is expected to engage with users and industrial partners to develop case studies which provide tailor-made front-end total solutions for the users to implement circular chemical economy model. The candidate must possess a solid understanding of circular economy and sustainability at the systems level. Previous experience in industrial engagement will be an advantage. The Research Fellow will be part of a large CircularChem consortium, aiming to accelerate the transition of the chemical industry to net zero carbon through circular approaches. The Research Fellow is expected to collaborate closely with partners on the CircularChem centre to deliver the tasks. 

In this project, we will investigate how future electrochemical interfaces can be designed, optimised and self-evolved throughout their entire life cycle via novel Explainable AI (XAI) and digital solutions. We will create an inverse design framework, where we use a set of desired performance indicators as input for the XAI models to generate electrochemical interface designs that satisfy the requirements, in a physically meaningful way interpretable by us. The methodology, once developed, will tackle exemplar challenges of central importance to the net zero roadmap, which include improving current systems such as H₂ production/fuel cell and CO₂ reduction, but also developing new electrochemical systems which do not yet exist today at industrial scale such as N₂ reduction and multi-ion energy storage. The candidate will have expertise on the electrochemical engineering required to undertake research tasks on the experimental characterisation and physics-based modelling of electrochemical interfaces and systems. They will bring the ‘physical knowledge’ to the team and feed into the digital/AI model. The candidate must possess a solid understanding of of the basics of electrochemical processes, along with a firm grasp on data-driven methodologies and exhibit proficiency in coding and programming. Previous experience using advanced optimisation techniques and applying physics-informed ML and AI methodologies will be an advantage. The Research Fellow will be part of a large research group, aiming to accelerate the transition of the chemical industry to net zero carbon through circular approaches and electrification of processes. The Research Fellow is expected to collaborate closely with partners on the Open Fellowship project to integrate the work packages into broad system framework. 

We are currently seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral research associate to join Dr. Wooli Bae’s research group at the University of Surrey. During this three-year position (fixed- term contract for 36 months), the postdoc will lead cutting-edge projects in DNA and RNA nanotechnology.

We seek a highly motivated Research Fellow to join the Wellcome Trust-funded project: “A Health-centred Systems Approach towards Net-Zero: Transforming regional climate mitigation policies (Heal-NZ)”. The overall aim of Heal-NZ is to transform regional Net-Zero policy solutions by adopting a health-centred systems approach. To this aim, Heal-NZ brings together scientists from a range of disciplines (including social science, climate, air quality, data, health and economics) from the Universities of Birmingham, Surrey, and York, and stakeholders from West Midlands Combined Authority,  Defra, Birmingham City Council,  Clean Air Fund, Sandwell  Metropolitan Borough Council, Coventry City Council, Solihull Council, Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants, and WSP in the UK to develop new tools and science understanding.  

Applications are invited for two Research Fellow positions focused on the experimental evaluation and critical analysis of a novel fail-operational steer-by-wire system. To this end, the posts centre on the design and assembly of a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) test rig and the development of a digital twin to support failure detection and allow predictive health monitoring of the steer-by-wire system.

The post-holder will be working on a 4-year ESRC-funded project with Dr Chris Askew (University of Surrey), Prof Andy Field and Dr Kathryn Lester (University of Sussex). The project is investigating risk and resilience factors in the vicarious learning and reduction of fear in children (aged 7-10). The aim of the research is to identify the combination of parenting style, parent temperament and child temperament factors that influence vicariously learned increases and reductions in fear. The research findings are expected to increase our understanding of how fear is intergenerationally transmitted within families and identify the factors that increase children’s resilience or susceptibility to fear development. The project aims to create a new evidence base that will help inform the development of future fear interventions, preventions and treatments for children by improving our understanding of the main influences on fear development and treatment responsiveness. We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and motivated researcher interested in the development of anxiety disorders in children. The post holder will be responsible for recruitment of participants (parents and children) and the day-to-day running of the research in the lab. Duties include creating materials, programming, collecting, processing and inputting data, conducting preliminary analyses, and maintaining a project-specific website. They will need a good understanding of research methods and ethical issues in this type of research. They will also be involved in the writing-up and dissemination of findings.

The University of Surrey is a top-ten UK University set in a beautiful campus half an hour’s journey from London. The School of Psychology was rated 13th in the 2023 Complete University Guide League Table. The Department of Psychology cultivates a culture of excellence in research and innovation, teaching that is inclusive and collegiate, and provides a supporting and nourishing environment for our staff including career development opportunities and mentoring.