Postdoctoral Researcher/Research Associate, Civil Engineering, School of Engineering (NUIG RES 084-22)

National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway)

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a full-time, fixed term position as a Post-Doctoral Researcher/Research Associate in Civil Engineering (School of Engineering) at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

This position is funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and is available from 01/04/2022 to contract end date of 31/03/2024

Job Description:

The successful candidate will join the environmental engineering research group in the Department of Civil Engineering at NUI Galway where they will work on an exciting and innovative project funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The project (ACET – adaptive control for energy efficiency in wastewater treatment plants) is a collaboration between NUI Galway and Vortech Water Solutions Ltd (www.vortechws.com). The post holder will work within an existing multidisciplinary team at the Department of Civil Engineering, in NUI Galway affiliated the Ryan Institute of Environment, Marine and Energy (https://www.nuigalway.ie/ryaninstitute/). The research team is active in water and wastewater engineering, technology innovation, energy efficiency and improving the sustainability and resilience of the built and natural environment. The team is active in national and international projects including ENERGE (https://www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/energe/), INNOQUA (www.innoqua-project.eu), NEPTUNUS (https://neptunus-project.eu/) and MOREFISH (www.morefish.ie). The candidate will have the opportunity to be involved in the development and demonstration of novel control techniques for wastewater treatment systems and will actively collaborate with other commercial and public bodies in the wastewater treatment sector. The candidate will join a research group which has a history of technology innovation leading to multiple awards, patents, commercial licences and spin-out companies. The successful candidate will report to the ACET project manager and the Principal Investigator.

Project Description:

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) account for some 3% of global final electricity usage. In Ireland, Irish Water (which accounts for 21% of public sector electricity consumption) is the largest consumer of electricity in the public sector and have committed to improving energy efficiency by 50% by 2030. Existing processes are highly energy intensive with up to 75% of all energy consumed at a wastewater treatment facility being attributed to the secondary activated sludge treatment process. In an Irish context this equates to about 2.25% of Ireland’s total electricity usage approximating 640 GWh total final consumption of electricity consumed per annum.

ACET proposes the demonstration of innovative adaptive control framework at municipal and industrial WWTPs that (i) enable WWTP operators meet discharge limits and (ii) drive reductions in electricity usage and associated emissions within the WWTP sector. ACET focuses on first integrating and optimising three key pillars (i) energy intensive equipment (ii) process technology and (iii) monitoring to develop and demonstrate an innovative framework that allows intelligent and efficient control of WWTPs.

Duties:

•Work with project partners to develop and implement novel real-time control systems on demonstration sites

•Data collection, management analysis from on-site demonstration facilities

•On-site and laboratory analysis of water and wastewater samples including biochemical and chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen, phosphorous, suspended solids, pH, ORP, dissolved oxygen and other related parameters

•Literature reviews and development of energy benchmarks based on existing literature in wastewater treatment

•Communication and dissemination to include conference publications, industry magazine publications, maintenance of project website and social media, development of training materials associated with project findings

•The successful candidate will be expected to lead and contribute to peer-reviewed academic journal publications in high impact journals.

•Day to day project management including financial and technical reporting, health and safety and meeting project milestones and deliverables.

•Other related duties as required.

Qualifications/Skills required:

Essential Requirements:

•PhD degree in civil or environmental engineering (or related discipline) OR 4+ years industrial experience with a Level 8 or Level 9 degree in civil or environmental engineering (or related discipline)

•Knowledge of wastewater treatment processes and design of wastewater treatment systems

•Demonstrated expertise in wastewater engineering and wastewater process control

•Excellent communication and dissemination skills including in academic, industry and public settings.

•Excellent technical report writing skills in English

•The candidate will be required to have their own transport for travel to demonstration sites in Ireland

Desirable Requirements:

•Laboratory experience in water/wastewater analysis

•Knowledge of programmable logic controller programming

•Experience in the on-site operation of wastewater treatment systems

•Experience in the design and control of wastewater treatment systems

Salary: PDR Point 1 €39,523 to Point 3 €41,940 per annum pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts (public sector pay policy rules pertaining to new entrants will apply).

Start date: Position is available from 01/05/2022

Continuing Professional Development/Training:

Continuing Professional Development/Training:

Further information on research and working at NUI Galway is available on Research at NUI Galway Researchers at NUI Galway are encouraged to avail of a range of training and development opportunities designed to support their personal career development plans. NUI Galway provides continuing professional development supports for all researchers seeking to build their own career pathways either within or beyond academia.  Researchers are encouraged to engage with our Researcher Development Centre (RDC) upon commencing employment – see www.nuigalway.ie/rdc for further information.

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

Further information about Civil Engineering and the School of Engineering at NUI Galway is available at https://www.nuigalway.ie/engineering/.

Informal enquiries concerning the post may be made, by e-mail, to Dr. Eoghan Clifford

To Apply:

Applications to include a covering maximum 2-page letter, 3-page CV, and the contact details of three referees should be sent, via e-mail (in word or PDF only) to Dr. Eoghan Clifford – eoghan.clifford@nuigalway.ie. The cover letter must outline how your previous experience makes you suitable for this specific role.

Please put reference number NUIG RES 084-22 in subject line of e-mail application.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 5.00 pm April 25th

We reserve the right to re-advertise or extend the closing date for this post.

National University of Ireland, Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

All positions are recruited in line with Open, Transparent, Merit (OTM) and Competency based recruitment

NUI Galway provides continuing professional development supports for all researchers seeking to build their own career pathways either within or beyond academia.  Researchers are encouraged to engage with our Researcher Development Centre (RDC) upon commencing employment – see www.nuigalway.ie/rdc for further information.

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