Research Assistant/Research Associate: Integrated analysis of plant 
performance and operation in the oil and gas industry

Job Title: Research Assistant/Research Associate 
Department/Division/Faculty: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial 
College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ

We are seeking a Research Assistant/Associate for an industrially sponsored 
project on integrated analysis of plant performance and operation in the 
oil and gas industry. Integrated analysis in the context of the project 
refers to the process together with all its mechanical equipment and 
utilities. It means considering the electrical, mechanical, process and 
site utility systems together and taking account of the interactions 
between them.

The tasks of the post will be to explore research ideas and concepts within 
the above scope of the project, and to work on case studies that are under 
way with the sponsor and with other companies that collaborate with the 
sponsor. There will also be an opportunity to engage in research into 
statistical and data-driven methods for root cause diagnosis based on 
analysis of measurements. The findings of the studies will be organized to 
provide immediate new knowledge and improvements, and also to uncover 
longer-term research opportunities. 

The research activity is within the programme of the ABB/RAEng Chair of 
Process Automation and will be housed in the Centre for Process Systems 
Engineering. The Centre is a world leading research establishment in the 
areas of modelling, simulation and optimization. The Department of Chemical 
Engineering at Imperial College London was ranked the top chemical 
engineering department in the UK in the recent Research Assessment 
Exercise. The successful applicant will also spend time with the sponsor in 
Oslo, Norway. 

More information about the Process Automation research programme can be 
found at: http://personal-pages.ps.ic.ac.uk/~nina/ 

The ideal candidate would have strong mathematical engineering training and 
a minimum of MSc (or equivalent) in engineering, signal processing, control 
systems or chemical process control. A PhD (or equivalent) in one of these 
areas is necessary for appointment at Research Associate level. Experience 
is also required in writing, debugging and documenting advanced engineering 
or scientific codes in MATLAB.

The duration of the appointment is one year. 

Committed to equality and valuing diversity. We are also an Athena Silver 
SWAN Award winner and a Stonewall Diversity Champion. 

Closing Date: 4 September 2009 (midnight GMT/BST)