Postdoctoral Fellowship (05) at Durham University, England

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a warm and friendly place to work, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other.

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham is an incredible place to define your career.The University is located within a beautiful historic city, home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surrounded by stunning countryside. Our talented scholars and researchers from around the world are tackling global issues and making a difference to people’s lives.  

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world. Being a part of Durham is about more than just the success of the University, it’s also about contributing to the success of the city, county and community.

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Space Security. This position is made possible by an EPSRC NESCA funded project: ‘Geopolitical Analysis and Space Domain Awareness (SDA)’. The post-holder will conduct research with the Space Research Centre (SPARC) at Durham University, in partnership with 3S Northumbria (3SN), on space security and the geopolitical dimensions of Space Domain Awareness (SDA) as well as deliver co-developed publications and knowledge dissemination events.

The project is led by Dr Bleddyn Bowen at the Space Research Centre (SPARC, Durham University) and is delivered in partnership with an Alnwick/Newcastle-based SDA company, 3S Northumbria (3SN). This project seeks to build bridges between quantitative technical orbital tracking work and qualitative geopolitical/security policy net assessments to address gaps in technical and non-technical SDA capabilities, and how to address permanent uncertainty in SDA analysis.

Candidates with a background in space security and technology are particularly desirable for the role. Candidates with a record in interdisciplinary research at the cross-section of technology and security/policy will also be highly desirable for the role. Exceptional candidates without an explicit background in space security but with a background in security/intelligence/geopolitical research, an interest in their technological dimensions, and the potential to quickly develop space expertise as part of the role may be considered for the role.

The post-holder will need to address intent and uncertainty issues in SDA using political, strategic, and/or intelligence studies analysis methods and knowledge, and show a track record or interest in the technical dimensions of SDA or space sustainability. The post-holder will be expected to conduct research in cooperation with Dr Bleddyn Bowen at SPARC and Mr Ralph Dinsley and the 3S Northumbria team as required to develop at least 1 published article, 1 policy white paper, and other, smaller items of writing such as Policy Briefs. The post-holder will also be expected to support the organisation and facilitation of a high-level dissemination workshop hosted by SPARC and 3SN at the end of the project.

The post-holder must have English proficiency, qualifications in International Security/Intelligence Studies or closely related fields and preferably have an interest if not experience in relevant technical fields or space technologies/systems.

There will be a modest budget available for local travel between Durham, Newcastle, and Alnwick for the post-holder to facilitate cooperation between the SPARC and 3SN. The post-holder will be supported in academic and professional mentoring with Dr Bleddyn Bowen for the duration of the appointment. The post-holder will be expected to attend various meetings and project workshops in-person at the Durham University campus, and the 3SN offices in Newcastle and/or Alnwick, as appropriate.

The Department of Physics at Durham University is one of the leading UK Physics departments with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability of our students.

The Department is committed to advancing equality and we aim to ensure that our culture is inclusive, and that our systems support flexible and family-friendly working, as recognized by our Juno Champion and Athena SWAN Silver awards. We recognise and value the benefits of diversity throughout our staff and students.

Postdoctoral Technical Research Officer position is available to provide high-level technical support to a range of experimental research projects in the field of atomic, molecular and optical physics within the Durham Quantum Light and Matter group. The position is associated with a new five-year Programme Grant on “Quantum Many-Body Physics with Ultracold Polar Molecules” funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).  The research builds upon our expertise in creating ultracold RbCs molecules in the rovibrational ground state and trapping them in rotationally magic traps across a variety of experimental platforms. The post holder will work directly with Prof. Simon Cornish and other members of his research group within the Durham Quantum Light and Matter research section.

The goal of the research is to synthesise and study artificial quantum materials using ultracold molecules arranged in regular arrays to probe novel quantum phenomena in strongly interacting quantum systems. The use of molecules is motivated by their rich internal structure, combined with the existence of controllable long-range dipole-dipole interactions, long trap lifetimes and strong coupling to electric and microwave fields. The experiments are complex and highly technical. The post holder will be expected to display the initiative and creativity, together with the appropriate skills and knowledge, required to work with Prof. Cornish to provide high-level technical support to all the experiments and to assist in the training of other staff in state-of-the-art research techniques in the field.

The post holder is therefore expected to have experience and familiarity with the implementation of many techniques used in the study of ultracold gases, including the setup and alignment of magneto-optical traps, optical trapping and optical lattices, internal state control with RF and microwave fields and advanced data acquisition techniques. The post holder is expected to be able to work effectively both independently and as part of a small research team. It is expected that the post holder will enhance the international contacts of the group through the presentation of technical developments at international conferences and exchange visits to collaborators connected with the project. The post holder will also be expected to aid in the training of graduate students within the group as well as contributing to the undergraduate teaching within the Department.

The Department of Engineering at Durham University is recognised as being one of the very best in the UK. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise of 2021, the Department had 95% of publications rated as 3*/4*, and all impact case studies graded 3*/4*.  The Engineering Department demonstrates significant depth of research excellence across a range of disciplines, with activities that are currently concentrated around three Research Challenges (Sustainable Infrastructure, Future Energy Systems and Advanced Materials, Electronics and Communications) and eight Research Nodes which group staff under technical expertise and interest (see  https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/engineering/research/).

We are particularly proud of the collaborative interdisciplinary nature of our research, which also includes strong industrial partnerships.  The strategic vision for the Department includes a major growth over the next five years, with a significant enhancement of the research challenge portfolio and a drive to enrich our undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research provision.

We are a scholarly community that is open, supportive, collegiate, representative and diverse: our commitment to this is expressed through the work of the Department’s Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Committee, and our Athena Swan Silver Award.

The Centre for Communication Systems has world class radio propagation measurements capabilities with state-of-the-art radio channel sounders with multiple RF heads covering several frequency bands from 0.6 GHz to 330 GHz for mobile radio measurements, a large anechoic chamber, and a high end disdrometer weather station with multiple mm wave RF heads to study the impact of precipitation on fixed links in the built environment. Its research is supported by electronics and mechanical workshops.

We are seeking to appoint a Research Assistant (RA) or Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) on a part-time basis to support a project investigating prehabilitation for cancer populations in collaboration with the Cancer Treatment Outcome Programme at the Country Durham and Darlington NHS Trust. Prehabilitation means getting someone ready before their cancer treatment. This may include physical activity and exercise, nutrition, mental health, and other supportive services. The aim of this project is to evaluate the Cancer Treatment Outcome Programme at the Country Durham and Darlington NHS Trust as well as understand people’s experiences with prehabilitation.

The RA/PDRA will work with Dr Katie Di Sebastiano as the project lead and will engage with collaborators at Durham University, the Cancer Treatment Outcome Programme at the Country Durham and Darlington NHS Trust.  Experience conducting quantitative research including data collection, management, and analysis is essential. Experience conducting qualitative research including data collection, management, and analysis is desirable.  Excellent initiative, flexibility in work style, communication, and teamwork are highly desirable.