About us

UCL Department of Chemical Engineering is one of the top research and teaching departments in the UK and has world-class standing. The department offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and has an extensive research portfolio across a wealth of areas, and from molecular scale to complex systems.
The project aims to advance fundamental understanding of the unusual thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena underpinning the dissolution, aggregation, and denaturation processes of alpha particles generated during nuclear fuel debris retrieval under various environments. A multidisciplinary approach will be followed whereby experimental studies will be combined with simulations and modelling under uncertainty to predict the debris particle behaviour. The project is in collaboration with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Waseda in Japan. The successful candidate will be spending sometime in the collaborator’s lab. The main role of the post holder will be to develop high fidelity CFD models of the phenomena and then apply meta-modelling techniques to develop simple models suitable for use in simulation software. The simulation software will aim at predicting behaviour of nuclear fuel debris and may also be used to guide the experiments in the project, both at UCL and for the collaborating partner in Japan. As a result, the post holder will be required to interact closely with the researcher at UCL on experimental investigations of the thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena and with the collaborators at the Tokyo Institute of Technology who will be studying particle aggregation and particle characterization.

About the role

The main role of the post holder will be to develop high fidelity CFD models of the thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena of nano-particle dissolution in micro-channels and then apply meta-modelling techniques to develop simple models suitable for use in simulation software. The simulation software will aim at predicting behaviour of nuclear fuel debris and may also be used to guide the experiments in the project, both at UCL and for the collaborating partner in Japan.

This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.

This is a fixed-term role for 17 months in the first instance. The salary offered for this role is up to £40,533 per annum including London Allowance. Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £35,702 -£37,548 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis.

Expected start date is November 2023 however an earlier start date might be considered.

About you

The successful candidate must have (or be in the process of submitting) a PhD in Chemical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.

They must also have:

• Experience with mathematical modelling of complex phenomena.
• Experience with meta-modelling techniques.
• Experience in software development.
• Knowledge of version control systems.
• Knowledge of computational fluid dynamics software.
• A proven track record of publishing academic papers in peer reviewed journals.
• Experience in supervising student research projects.
• Ability to present to a high level before an audience of international experts in the field High level analytical capability.
• Ability to write clearly and concisely to a level consistent with publication in highly regarded international journals.
• Ability to work collaboratively and as part of a team.
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration of research projects.
• Ability to exercise initiative and judgement in carrying out research tasks.
• Ability to organise/manage time to perform a wide variety of tasks.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

41 Days holiday (including 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
On-Site nursery
On-site gym
Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
Discounted medical insurance

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.
These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.