Location: University Park
Salary: £27,511 to £40,322 per annum (pro rata if applicable) depending on skills and experience (minimum £30,942 with relevant PhD). Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance
This is an exciting opportunity to work as a member of the Prosperity Partnership team between the Advanced Materials Research Group and the Centre for Additive Manufacturing in the Faculty of Engineering. The post will involve the use of a continuous hydrothermal synthesis method (initially at small scale) to develop and discover new functional piezo-electric and conductive materials and new routes to making them. Successful target materials will then be scaled up as part of the wider remit of the project.
This project aims to develop new methods and understanding of how to deliver additively manufactured products for acoustic devices and energy harvesting. At the end of the project, we will have delivered acoustic demonstrators that rely on 3D printed electronics and materials, requiring the development of multi-material, multifunctional approaches to the deposition of material. Working with our industrial partners BAE Systems and Lloyds Register, we will demonstrate the effectiveness of demonstrators as both a sensory device and as an energy harvesting system.
This position is part of a large team of multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional researchers funded by the EPSRC Prosperity Partnership award led by the University of Southampton, Intelligent Structures for Low Noise Environments (EP/S03661X/1). This research initiative is working with industrial partners from BAE Systems and Lloyd’s Register, as well as our academic collaborators at the University of Southampton. This project aims to deliver disruptive change with the rapid development and adoption of next generation multi-material, multifunctional Additive Manufacturing by establishing the fundamental knowledge and advanced methods of control to enable targeted 3D multifunctionality. The particular application focus for this research position is in maritime systems, where main and auxiliary machinery can cause problems associated with crew and passenger comfort, structural integrity and where increasingly radiated noise is seen as a hazard for marine life. Although a range of passive vibration and noise control measures are used in practice, they do not provide effective control at low frequencies. This programme will, therefore, focus on the development of innovative and effective solutions for a range of noise and vibration control problems. This includes active noise and vibration control solutions, advanced passive noise control technologies, such as Metamaterials and Acoustic Black Holes, and the use of design and topology optimisation methods for the design of low noise structures. The programme will investigate how noise and vibration control systems can be optimised for subjective performance and consider how control and harvesting of vibration can be integrated into a unified design approach.
Candidates should have (or be about to complete) a PhD in materials chemistry, materials engineering, inorganic chemistry or piezo functionalised materials.
This full-time post (36.25 hours) is available immediately and will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of 36 months, subject to start by 1st December 2020 as the funding ends on 30th November 2023. Job share arrangements may be considered.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof Edward Lester, Edward.lester@nottingham. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.