Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference in people's lives.
The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.
Less than 3 hours north of London and an hour and a half south of Edinburgh, County Durham is a region steeped in history and natural beauty. The Durham Dales, including the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, are home to breathtaking scenery and attractions. Durham offers an excellent choice of city, suburban and rural residential locations. The University provides a range of benefits, including pension and childcare benefits, and the University’s Relocation Manager can assist with potential schooling requirements.
Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength, and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.
The Department
The Department of Physics at Durham University is one of the leading UK Physics departments with an outstanding reputation for excellence in teaching, research and employability of our students.
The Department is committed to advancing equality, and we aim to ensure that our culture is inclusive and that our systems support flexible and family-friendly working, as recognized by our Juno Champion and Athena SWAN Silver awards. We recognise and value the benefits of diversity throughout our staff and students.
The Role
Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational Condensed Matter Physics to work with Professor Stewart Clark in the Department of Physics at Durham University.
The position is to commence in April 2025. It is a fixed-term post for 12 months.
The project involves mainly computational work to exploit GPUs using directive-based accelerator offloading in the Castep code (castep.org). Castep is a leading software package for calculating the properties of materials from first principles using density functional theory. It enables the simulation of a wide range of material properties, including energetics, atomic-level structures, vibrational characteristics, and electronic responses. Notably, Castep offers extensive spectroscopic features that directly correlate with experimental techniques, such as infrared and Raman spectroscopy. A Sternheimer solver underpins the calculation of a variety of such response functions, and its performance characteristics are the limiting factor in studying various spectroscopic phenomena such as phonons. Offloading this to GPUs is the core work to be carried out by the PDRA.
Informal enquiries are welcome and should please be directed to Prof Stewart Clark, s.j.clark@durham.ac.uk.
Responsibilities :
• To understand and convey material of a specialist or highly technical nature to the team or group of people through presentations and discussions that lead to the presentation of research papers in conferences and publications.
• To prepare and deliver presentations on research outputs/activities to audiences, which may include research sponsors and academic and non-academic audiences.
• To publish high-quality outputs, including papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals and papers for presentation at conferences and workshops under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To assist with the development of research objectives and proposals.
• To conduct individual and collaborative research projects under the direction of the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder.
• To work with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and other colleagues in the research group, as appropriate, to identify areas for research, develop new research methods and extend the research portfolio.
• To deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines by discussing with the Principal Investigator or Grant-holder and offering creative or innovative solutions.
• To liaise with research colleagues and make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding to form relationships for future research collaboration.
• To plan and manage own research activity and research resources in collaboration with others and contribute to the planning of research projects.
• To deliver training in research techniques/approaches to peers, visitors and students as appropriate.
• To be involved in student supervision, as appropriate, and assist with the assessment of the knowledge of students.
• To contribute to fostering a collegial working environment which is inclusive and welcoming and where everyone is treated fairly with dignity and respect.
• To engage in citizenship to support the department and wider discipline.
• To engage in continuing professional development by participation in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching programmes or by membership in departmental committees, etc. and by attending relevant training and development courses.
• To communicate and collaborate with the industrial collaborators.
• To be familiar with GPU-based programming in a scientific context. In particular, knowledge of electronic structure methods is essential, as well as a range of programming methods on high-performance computers such as directive-based methods, MPI and modern Fortran.
This post is fixed term for 12 months.
The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.
Successful applicants will ideally be in post by 1 April 2025.
Working at Durham
A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:
• 30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year.
• The University closes between Christmas and New Year – please include or delete if not applicable.
• We offer a generous pension scheme, As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
• No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle-to-work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discounts with local bus and train companies.
• There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.
• Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• On-site nursery is available, and children’s clubs in the summer holidays.
• Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
• The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
• Discounts are available via our benefits portal, including money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.
• A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.
• If you are moving to Durham, we can help with removal costs, and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.
Durham University is committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and values
Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned with both our values and commitment to EDI.
We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our workforce, including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so, and where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their roles.
The Requirements
Essential:
1. Qualifications
• A good first degree in Physics or a related subject.
• A PhD (or be close to submission) in Physics or a related subject.
2. Experience
• Experience in conducting high-quality academic research.
• Demonstrable ability to write material of a quality commensurate with publication in highly-ranked journals.
• Demonstrable ability to present research papers at [international] conferences and communicate complex information to specialists and within the wider academic community.
• Demonstrable ability to collaborate with industrial partners.
• Experience in relevant state-of-the-art facility-based condensed matter computational techniques.
• Expertise in programming electronic structure methods on high-performance computers.
3. Skills
• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings.
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and to strict deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Desirable:
4. Experience
• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with stage of career.
• A track record of presenting research at conferences, symposia, or meetings commensurate with the stage of my career.
• Demonstrable ability to develop research proposals and designs in collaboration with other academics.
• Experience overseeing students with respect to the development of their practical/research skills, e.g. acting as a demonstrator and supervising student projects/practicals.
5. Skills
• Demonstrable ability to plan and manage independent research.
How to Apply
To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.
While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at the interview.
Submitting your application
We prefer to receive applications online. We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.
What to Submit
All applicants are asked to submit:
a CV and cover letter which details your experience, skills, and achievements in meeting (or the potential to meet) the criteria set out below.
Any other additional documents the department feels would support the shortlisting process
Next Steps
Short-listed candidates will be invited to the University, either virtually or in person and will have the opportunity to meet key members of the Department. The assessment for the post will normally include a presentation to staff and students in the Department followed by an interview and we anticipate that the assessments and interviews will take place over two days in or around February 2025.
In the event that you are unable to attend in person on the date offered, it may not be possible to offer you an interview on an alternative date.
Please note that in submitting your application, Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Job Applicants/Potential Job Applicants - Durham University, which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.
When appointing to this role, the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds, which are applicable to some visas.
