Research Associate (Fixed Term)

SWIMMR (Space Weather Instrumentation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk) is a four-year research programme that will improve the UK's capabilities for space weather monitoring and prediction.

About the project

A Royal Academy of Engineering report (2011) suggests that all Services that depend on satellite radio navigation for positioning, navigation or timing (PNT), either directly or indirectly, "should explain their contingency plans for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) outages".

The objective of the SWIMMR N3 project (recently funded by NERC) will build a step-change in the Met Office’s ability to specify and forecast the ionosphere. 

The ability to monitor and forecast gradients in Total Electron Content (TEC) as well as the occurrence of scintillation on GNSS signals is paramount for safety-critical applications, for example, civil aviation. At the University of Bath we will help the Met Office in building such a capability through the SWIMMR N3 project. 

About the role

The overall purpose of this job position is to build computer tools (in Python) for the nowcasting and forecasting of TEC gradients and ionospheric scintillation by using GNSS data as well as other data of relevance.

Summary of the role:

• to craft computer tools in Python for nowcasting and forecasting of TEC gradients and scintillation;
• to conduct individual and collaborative research within this project;
• to contribute to the execution of the project;
• to analyse data from ground and spaceborne GNSS, scintillation monitors, ionosondes, incoherent scatter radars and other instruments of relevance;
• to disseminate project results (by means of project reports, peer-reviewed publications);
• to actively participate in project meetings as well as Departmental and Group meetings; 

About you

Our ideal applicant will have:

• A PhD in GNSS, space physics, space engineering, or any other area closely related to the project;
• familiarity with GNSS data;
• familiarity with ionospheric radio science (for example, propagation effects due to TEC and scintillation);
• ability to craft suitable Python-based algorithms;
• ability to carry out research work and to disseminate results;
• ability to work in a team;
• passion and self-motivation

The University of Bath is a research-intensive university with a physics/engineering Centre for Space, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (CSAOS). CSAOS is a multi-disciplinary centre which studies the space/Earth environment and the effects on advanced technological systems.  CSOAS started as Radio Systems Radio Science Group in 1998 and became a University Centre in 2008.CSAOS Members have leading expertise in antennas and propagation, communication and navigation systems (including GNSS), remote sensing, earth observation, signal processing, image processing and data assimilation.

This project is led by Dr Biagio Forte, with support from Prof Cathryn Mitchell and Dr Ivan Astin. They have expertise in Space Weather and EISCAT with particular strengths in irregularities and scintillation, data assimilation and theoretical and experimental advances, and they have collectively published over 200 journal papers in the field of space weather.

We have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Bronze Athena SWAN award, and we are actively working towards a Silver award. We are a family-friendly University, with an increasingly agile workforce, we are open to flexible working arrangements. We’re also proud to be a disability confident leader and are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments you may require.

Informal enquires to Biagio Forte ([email protected] ). Please note that this is a fixed term, full time post, available from September 2022 until March 2024.