PDRA in Transmission Channels Measurements for Future mmWave Communications

Durham University 

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience. 

Less than 3 hours north of London, and an hour and a half south of Edinburgh, County Durham is a region steeped in history and natural beauty. The Durham Dales, including the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, are home to breath taking scenery and attractions. Durham offers an excellent choice of city, suburban and rural residential locations. The University provides a range of benefits including pension and childcare benefits and the University’s Relocation Manager can assist with potential schooling requirements.

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national, and regional communities that we work with and serve.

The Department

The Department of Engineering is consistently one of the very best UK engineering departments with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research, and employability of our students. We have a long history and tradition of Engineering. Engineering has been taught at Durham University since 1838 making it the first course of its kind in England. The Department provides outstanding course content that equips young engineers with the problem-solving skills of the 21st century and is committed to an ethos of research-led teaching at all levels of its taught programmes, and is ranked 4th in the Complete University Guide 2022, 4th in the Guardian University Guide 2021 and 6th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021 in the UK for General Engineering.  Ranked 4th in the UK for Research impact at REF 2014, where 90% of the Engineering outputs were graded 3* or 4*, this dynamic department is an excellent place to work.   We have helped to shape the past and continue to shape the future. The strategic vision for the Department includes a growth plan of over 50% 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.  It is an exciting time to join this expanding Department and make your mark.

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 170 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.

The Department has an Athena SWAN Bronze Award, recognising our commitment to diversity in STEM academia and reflecting the supportive and positive environment within the Department.

The Role

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in experimental radio propagation studies for both indoor and outdoor mobile environments and to study the impact of precipitation on mm wave fixed radio links and relating its impact to the data obtained from two fixed links at multiple mm wave bands and the high-end weather station installed at Durham University.

The successful candidate will be working in the Communications and THz node in the department of Engineering led by Professor Salous who is the lead academic for the current EPSRC project Transmission Channels Measurements and Communication System Design for Future mmWave Communications (mmWave TRACCS), which is a collaborative project with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and University College London (UCL).  The research project addresses the higher frequencies which are being considered with increased interest in the 140-170 GHz (termed D-band) and beyond (275 GHz band). At these frequencies, where there is plenty of available spectrum to satisfy the spectrum hungry applications of wireless systems, new designs are required, with little work done in this area world-wide. The project brings the complementary expertise of three world leading UK research groups, to research, design and experimentally demonstrate systems working at these frequencies, in an integrative and holistic fashion. For such work, there are three key challenges relating to the radio channel and the signal and system design.

Challenge 1: to design wireless communication systems, it is paramount to have a verifiable model of the physical propagation channel by collecting measurement data from a specialist and bespoke designed equipment termed "channel sounder", which sends signals over the air and the receiver measures these signals after propagation. Such a model depends on several physical factors, but mainly the transmission signal parameters e.g., the frequency of transmission, the bandwidth of the signal, and the propagation channel physical parameters, such as the channel size and environment and whether it is indoors or outdoors, environmental factors, presence of obstacles, water moisture, pollution, and other factors. Professor Salous and her group at Durham has been building channel sounders for over thirty years and the models she has developed are considered amongst the best in the world, used by regulators, industry, and the United Nations through the International Telecommunications Union, (ITU). In this project Professor Salous and the successful candidate will work on the design and test new channel sounding in the D Band and at the higher 275 GHz band. These will be unique sounders and the aim is to develop unique models and set the standards for future generation wireless systems. The models will be verified in a practical setting through collaboration with the teams at QMUL and UCL.

Challenge 2: The transmission of information at high frequencies requires specialist circuit and equipment design. Whilst there are several circuits for such signals, there are few antennas that can transmit and receive the signals and process them spatially. Professor Yang Hao at QMUL, who has been designing antennas for high frequencies for nearly three decades, will design specialist antennas, to be manufactured using simple 3D printing processes, to integrate to the system designed at Durham for full channel measurements. The designs will be optimized with consultation between the teams and taking the channel models into account. The outcome is a system with multiple antennas that can focus the transmission beams and change their shape and direction (a process termed beam forming) so that a system can be constructed that will fully utilize the benefits of the high frequencies and link to signals addressed by the UCL team.

Challenge 3: for the past 20 years the UCL team, led by Professor Darwazeh, has designed, and demonstrated the use of specialist signals for mobile and wireless systems that can maximise the amount of information while minimizing the energy required for good signal transmission; these processes are termed spectral and energy efficiencies. UCL will design spectrally and energy efficient signals, based on the D Band channel models derived at Durham and suitable for transmission using the antennas designed by QMUL; the outcome will be a complete transmission system at D Band with projected bit rates beyond 50 Gbit/s; nearly an order of magnitude beyond what can be achieved using 5G systems.

The successful applicant will be expected to:

General Responsibilities

To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team or group of people through presentations and discussions that leads to the presentation of research papers in conferences and publications.

• To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences which may include, research sponsors, academic and non-academic audiences.
• To publish high quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To prepare technical documents to be presented to the correspondence Groups of the International Telecommunications Union and European COST Actions.
• To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
• To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To work with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To plan and manage own research activity, research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
• To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors, and students as appropriate.
• To be involved in student supervision, as appropriate.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial and respectful working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in wider citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• To engage in continuing professional development by participation in the undergraduate or postgraduate teaching programmes or by membership of departmental committees, etc. and by attending relevant training and development courses.      

This post is fixed term for 3.5 years which covers the full duration of the EPSRC grant with the successful applicant, ideally, being in post by the 1st of November 2022 at the latest.

The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

How to Apply

For informal enquiries please contact Professor Sana Salous ([email protected]).  All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence. 

We prefer to receive applications online via the Durham University Vacancies Site. https://www.dur.ac.uk/jobs/ . As part of the application process, you should provide details of 3 (preferably academic/research) referees and the details of your current line manager so that we may seek an employment reference.

Applications are particularly welcome from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in the University.

What to submit

All applicants are asked to submit:

1. A CV;

2. A covering letter that details your experience, strengths, and potential in the requirements set out below;

3. A word document evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable criteria person specification.

Next Steps

The assessment for the post will include a background in radio propagation, experimental expertise, and publications. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview and assessment.

The Requirements

Essential:

• A good first degree in Electronics Engineering.
• A PhD in Electronics Engineering.

• Experience in experimental mobile radio propagation studies.
• Experience in programming in C, gate arrays and Matlab
• Experience in conducting high quality academic research
• Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly ranked journals.
• Demonstrable ability to present research papers at conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community. 

• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable:

• Experience
• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
• A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings, commensurate with stage of career. 
• Skills

• Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.