Lecturer in Pure Mathematics or Mathematical Physics

12012BR

Cardiff School of Mathematics

Teaching & Research

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Lecturer in Pure Mathematics or Mathematical Physics
Cardiff School of Mathematics

Applications are invited for a Lectureship in Pure Mathematics or Mathematical Physics in the School of Mathematics at Cardiff University. This is a full-time, open-ended post starting on 1 January 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Applicants for the post should have a record of or potential to produce research that reaches excellence in terms of originality, significance and rigour in Mathematics.  S/he should have the ability to deliver high-quality teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. S/he will also be expected to take a full part in the life of the School, including administrative duties.  Candidates must have a PhD in Mathematics or a closely related discipline.
The appointment will be in any area of Geometry, Algebra, Mathematical Physics or Topology (GAPT).  The research interests of current members of the group include (in alphabetical order):

• Algebraic geometry and geometric representation theory with a focus on studying derived and DG-categories associated to algebraic varieties.

• Algebraic topology with links to homotopy theory and operator algebras, in particular C*-algebras.

• Combinatorics, including alternating sign matrices, graphs, lattice paths, plane partitions and polytopes.

• Conformal Field Theory, vertex operator algebras, tensor categories, Lie theory and its generalisations.

• Operator algebras and tensor categories, virtual knot theory.

• Quantum algebra, including fusion and modular tensor categories and applications to conformal field theory.

• Quantum spin systems and/or topological order, including operator-algebraic approaches, and applications to quantum information theory.

Ideally, we are looking for someone with links to more than one of these subjects.

The School of Mathematics is a research-led School in Cardiff University, one of the UK’s leading universities, with a reputation for internationally excellent research and high quality teaching. In the last Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, Cardiff University was ranked 5th in the UK in terms of the grade point average (GPA) of its overall quality profile and 2nd for Impact. http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/mathematics

This position is full-time, 35 hours per week and is open ended.

Salary: £33,797 - £40,322 per annum (Grade 6)

The post is available from 1 January 2022 or a mutually agreed date thereafter.

We particularly welcome applications from females as they are under-represented with Cardiff University in this field.

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Tim Phillips ([email protected] ), Dr Ana Ros Camacho ([email protected]) or Professor Roger Behrend ([email protected] ).

Date advert posted: Friday, 30 July 2021

Closing date: Friday, 27 August 2021

This post has previously been advertised to employees of Cardiff University only.  We now invite external applications.

Please be aware that Cardiff University reserves the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received. Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world. In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

“Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-research-environment/integrity-and-ethics/responsible-research-assessment”

Job Description

Main Functions of Post

To deliver research-led teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and contribute to the research record of the School through commitment to carrying out research leading to the publication of high quality research. To pursue excellence in research, teaching and enterprise and to inspire others to do the same.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Research

• To conduct research within Mathematics and contribute to the overall research performance of the School and University by the production of measurable outputs including bidding for funding, publishing in national academic journals, conferences and/or other research outputs, and the recruitment and supervision of postgraduate research students. 

• To develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research including research funding proposals

• To give conference/seminar papers at a local and national level

• To participate in School research activities.

Teaching

• To design and deliver teaching programmes for courses and contribute to module development as part of a module team

• To carry out other forms of scholarship including work associated with examinations (setting and marking paper and providing constructive feedback to students), administration, participation in committee work, and the pastoral care of students of Cardiff University

• To inspire undergraduate and postgraduate students under the guidance of a mentor / module leader and develop skills in assessment methods and in providing constructive feedback to students.

• To supervise the work of students including the supervision of Undergraduate and Master’s students and the co-supervision of PGR’s

• To act as a Personal Tutor and provide pastoral support to students

Other

• To engage effectively with industrial, commercial and public sector organisations, professional institutions, other academic institutions etc., regionally and nationally  to raise awareness of the School’s profile, to cultivate strategically valuable alliances, and to pursue opportunities for collaboration across a range of activities. These activities are expected to contribute to the School and the enhancement of its regional and national profile.

• To undergo personal and professional development that is appropriate to and which will enhance performance in the role of Lecturer.

• To participate in School administration and activities to promote the School and its work to the wider University and the outside world

• Any other duties not included above, but consistent with the role.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications and Education

Postgraduate degree at PhD level in a related subject area or relevant industrial experience

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

An established expertise and proven portfolio of research and/or relevant industrial experience within the field of Mathematics.

Teaching experience at undergraduate level

Knowledge of current status of research in specialist field

Proven ability to publish in national journals and/or other research outputs

Proven ability to be successful in competitive research funding

Ability to contribute to the delivery and continued development of modules across the School’s teaching programmes

Pastoral, Communication and Team Working

Proven ability in effective and persuasive communication

The ability to provide appropriate pastoral support to students, appreciate the needs of individual students and their circumstances and to act as a personal tutor

Desirable Criteria

Relevant professional qualification(s).

Evidence of collaborations with industry.

Proven ability to work without close supervision

 Proven ability to adapt to the changing requirements of the Higher Education community.

Evidence of ability to participate in and develop both internal and external networks and utilise them to enhance the teaching and research activities of the School.

A willingness to take responsibility for academically related administration.

When attaching the supporting statement to your application profile, please ensure that you name it with the vacancy reference number and your name.

Additional Information

GAPT Group
The GAPT group currently consists of 20 members (Staff, Post Docs, and PhD students) whose research interests span a variety of related subjects in pure mathematics and mathematical physics.

The group holds weekly seminars with speakers from the UK and abroad (virtually during the pandemic: https://researchseminars.org/), and frequently organises international conferences and programmes. Recent examples include a 1-month programme Operator Algebras and Quantum Physics at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics (2019), and  workshops on Post-rational Conformal Field Theory (2019), Algebraic Combinatorics (2019), Beyond rationality 2: integrability and postrational conformal field theory (2020), Beyond rationality ∞: exploring the many roads to postrational conformal field theory (2020), Women in Mathematical Physics (2020), Virtual Local Quantum Physics (LQP) (2020) and many others. Moreover, the UK-wide COW Algebraic geometry seminar meets regularly at Cardiff as well as our local GiC (Geometry in Cardiff) seminar.

School of Mathematics
The School of Mathematics is a research-led School in Cardiff University, one of the UK’s leading universities, with a reputation for internationally excellent research and high quality teaching. In the recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, Cardiff University was ranked 5th in the UK in terms of the grade point average (GPA) of its overall quality profile. The School is scheduled to move into a new building ‘Abacws’ in August 2021 co-located with the School of Computer Science and Informatics. The building has been designed in collaboration with students and academic staff to create interdisciplinary, flexible and creative workspaces, with innovative teaching areas being a key feature.

The School has six main research groups: Applied and Computational Mathematics; GAPT: Geometry, Algebra, Mathematical Physics and Topology; Mathematical Analysis; Mathematics Education; Operational Research; and Statistics. We are an internationally recognised centre of excellence for research in the mathematical sciences. In REF 2014 the School was ranked joint 19th out of 53 submissions with a GPA of 3.08 in the Mathematical Sciences Unit of Assessment. All of the research submitted was rated at least ‘internationally recognised’ with 90% rated as either ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. A distinctive feature of the submission was that 100% of our research was rated as ‘outstanding’ or ‘very considerable’ for its impact in terms of its reach and significance. We have provided solutions to contemporary issues such as data security and hospital waiting times.

The School engages with industry, young people and the wider community to make our innovative research accessible to a wider audience. The School has a long-standing culture of applied research and direct engagement with a wide range of industrial, government and commercial organisations such as the NHS, Hewlett Packard and the Office for National Statistics.

The School is also part of formal collaborations inside Wales through the Wales Institute for Mathematical and Computational Sciences where Cardiff is the largest partner. More recently GW4, the Great Western 4 brings together the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter.

The School offers a lively postgraduate environment, with a significant number of postgraduates working in its specialist areas.   Undergraduate students are offered a wide choice of degree programmes, covering an extensive and exciting range of mathematics and its applications. All students join a thriving mathematical community where excellent facilities, tuition of the highest quality, and a friendly supporting environment may be enjoyed.

More details on the School can be found at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/maths/

Job Category

Academic - Teaching & Research