Research Assistant/Associate in Geothermal Ground Improvement (Fixed Term)

Department of Engineering, West Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

£26,715 - £30,942
or £32,816 - £40,322

NM27640

Research

Published

3 August 2021

24 August 2021

A position exists, for a Research Assistant/Associate in the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, to work on the development of innovative and efficient ground improvement approaches for geothermal applications as part of the £1.6M EPSRC-funded project SaFEGround. SaFEGround is a large multi-disciplinary collaborative project between Imperial College London and the universities of Cambridge, Leeds and De Montfort and a number of industry partners. SaFEGround aims to provide a pathway for decarbonising both heating and cooling with the deployment of safe, flexible and efficient ground-source energy systems. SaFEGround will conducting research on improving the performance of these systems by enhancing heat transfer to tailored thermo-active structures and the ground, development new heat-pump technology and proposing new predictive tools for their thermal response.

The key responsibilities are driving, planning and conducting innovative laboratory-based research on cement-based ground improvement for geothermal applications, including (i) development of effective cementitious binders and the use of conductive fillers, (ii) optimisation of the enhanced thermal improvement of the soil, (iii) investigation of the effect of thermal cycling and impact on the soil-structure interface zone and (iv) laboratory-scale implementation using grouting of deep soil mixing.

The post holders will be located in Civil Engineering, West Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK and the Department of Engineering, Central Cambridge.

Applicants must have (or be close to obtaining) a PhD in geotechnical engineering or a relevant discipline; to have a strong background in ground improvement, cement stabilisation, heat transfer in porous media or cementitious materials and relevant experimental research methodologies; to have excellent communication, organisational and problem solving skills; to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team and to engage with industry partners.

Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level, which will be amended to Research Associate once the PhD has been awarded.

Salary Ranges: Research Assistant: £26,715 - £30,942, Research Associate: £32,816 - £40,322.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 12 months in the first instance.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Please upload your CV, covering letter and a list of publications in the Upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please submit your application by midnight on the closing date.

For technical queries please contact Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa ([email protected]) and for the application process contact Sue Stocks ([email protected]).

Please quote reference NM27640 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

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