Research Fellow (Fixed Term)

Research Fellow (Fixed Term)
Centre for Future Transport and Cities (FTC)
£35,333 - £44,737 per annum
As one of Coventry's biggest employers, we offer some pretty impressive benefits including an excellent pension scheme and generous holiday allowances.

The Centre for Future Transport and Cities (CFTC) is seeking a highly motivated Research Fellow (RF) to support “new bio-based and sustainable raw materials enabling circular value chains of high performance lightweight bio-composites” (r-LightBioCom). r-LightBioCom is a €5m Horizon Europe research and innovations actions project with 15 partners across the UK, Spain, Italy Germany and the Netherlands.

This RF role will support the overall CFTC deliverable of developing, testing and verifying a (numerical) Coupled Ecological Optimisation (CEO) framework. The primary challenge is to dynamically link qualitative (Circular Economy and sustainability) criteria with quantitative analysis tools (Finite Element Analysis) to enable a paradigm shift in the way lightweight composite structures are designed, engineered and optimised.

The work can broadly be divided into 4 different stages which also highlights the skills the ideal candidate possesses:

Stage 1 – requirements: r-LightBioCom will develop a host of innovative material solutions such as resins, fibres and plies. To capture and model key material characteristics the candidate should have a fundamental understanding of composite material technology (on a macroscopic scale).

Stage 2 – CEO methodology development: in order to successfully define an optimisation framework for component design, the candidate must possess good understanding of numerical simulation (Finite Element Analysis) and (mathematical) optimisation principles. Knowledge of composite component manufacturing / Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) / Machine Learning (ML) / Artificial Intelligence (AI) / engineering design processes / sustainability / Circular Economy would be highly advantageous.

Stage 3 – CEO methodology implementation and testing: to successfully implement the CEO (into software), the candidate must possess fundamental programming / scripting and debugging skills. Advanced programming / software development skills would be highly beneficial. The candidate must also possess excellent systematic problem solving skills.

Stage 4 – Use cases: to test the validity of the wider r-LightBioCom material solutions a set of case studies covering automotive, civil, space and aerospace applications will be completed. The components will be designed and optimised using the CEO software. The candidate should therefore possess a good understanding of structural evaluation principles (such as stress analysis). Knowledge of advanced structural evaluations such as composite failure analysis would be highly advantageous.

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate strengths in all areas listed above. Nevertheless, candidates who may not have experience with all areas, but can demonstrate exceptional skills in key areas (such as mathematical optimisation and programming) are highly encouraged to apply.

For any candidate systematic problem solving skills, oral and written communication skills, professional conduct, the ability to work independently as well as a passion for research are essential.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic research centre and establish or advance your career.

Fixed Term 36 months

To view job description and person specification please click here.