SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ADVANCED MATERIALS

Newcastle University, England

Postdoctoral Researchers in Process Modelling, Process Control and Optimisation

£25,134 - £32,796

Two Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) positions are available in the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, Newcastle University, England in the area of process systems analysis, modelling and control for a period of 24 months.

The goal of the project is to reduce cleaning times in process plant through an enhanced understanding of the cleaning process leading to a reduction in cleaning times, energy and water usage and cleaning fluids. The project is in collaboration with the end-user companies, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, Cadbury and Scottish and Newcastle, supplier companies, Ecolab, Bruker, GEA and Alfa Laval, and Birmingham University and Imperial College.

The research project requires expertise in process control and optimization alongside fundamental chemical engineering and empirical based modeling. In addition excellent programming skills are required. The successful candidates must be willing to work as part of an interdisciplinary team. They should be able to demonstrate good communication skills and be willing to work for periods at company sites in the UK.

Candidates interested in this position should have a PhD or equivalent experience in any of the following disciplines: Process Control, Biochemical/Chemical Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics or Statistics. The salary will be in the range £25,134 - £32,796 per annum depending on age, qualifications and experience.

The successful candidates will join an RAE Grade 5 research School which is recognised for its world class research and training and it also has an outstanding reputation for research and collaboration with industry (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ceam/). They will also be a member of the SYSMA Research Group (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ceam/research/sysma/ ).

To apply for the positions, please send a CV and a covering letter, together with a completed Employment Record Form, to Elaine Martin, Professor of Industrial Statistics, School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, Merz Court, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.

Further details can be obtained from Professor Elaine Martin Contact details as follows - Tel: +44 191 222 6231; Fax: +44 191 222 5292; e-mail: [log in to unmask]

Closing date for applications is 15th August 2008.