What are the responsibilities and job description for the Research Associate for Integrated Biomethane Production from Microalgae position at The University of Manchester?
A Research Associate position is available in the Department of Chemical Engineering and in particular in the Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering group, for an outstanding and ambitious chemical engineer to undertake primarily computational research related to the bioproduction of biomethane from microalgal strains. This is part of an ongoing InnovateUK collaborative project under the scheme “Innovate Ukraine – Supporting Ukraine’s Energy Recovery”. An exciting collaboration with Ukraine’s energy sector has been setup, including both academic and industrial partners. The project presents an exciting opportunity to undertake world-class computational research, lead dissemination and communication activities, collaborate with UK and international partners, perform project management tasks, and play an active role in creating impact in the field of renewable energy. Research will manly include computational methodologies to complement the ongoing experimental and modelling activities taking place in the group and across all partners. The scope of the work will be to :
- Develop an holistic (bio)process model of the integrated plant
- Validate the model through experimental data developed in the project
- Perform model-based optimisation
- Utilise the integrated model to perform extensive techno-economic (TEA) and sustainability analysis
You should have, a PhD (or equivalent) in chemical engineering or industrial biotechnology. Expertise in computational programming, model development, optimisation and techno-economic and sustainability analysis is essential. Expertise in microalgae and / or anaerobic digestion systems and relevant (bio)technologies is also desirable.
You should be capable of working under your own initiative and leading a research team, comprising PhD students. You will be expected to strongly liaise with the project partners, so excellent communication and organisational skills are also required.
Note that post should start on 1 / 4 / 2025 or shortly thereafter, therefore candidates that meet the criteria who are eligible to start on that date (including all paperwork requirements) are especially encouraged to apply.
What you will get in return :
