Stipend: This post will fully cover university tuition and provide a tax-free stipend over a four-year duration for UK students of £19,000 per year for the first two years, rising to £20,000 per year for the final two years

Start Date: 1st October 2015 (Contract Duration 4 years)

Project summary

The aim of the project is to enable United Utilities to develop and integrate technologies for improved operational management of events (such as leakages and bursts) in water distribution systems (WDS) such that:

1. Existing data sources can be effectively analysed and fused to provide accurate and near real-time detection and then localisation of events within a District Meter Area (DMA)
2. Algorithms from the fields of machine learning and evolutionary computation can be utilised to optimally locate sensors within a DMA for event localisation
3. Real-time hydraulic models and Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) data can be incorporated within Next Generation systems to further refine and improve detection and location accuracy

This project provides exciting opportunities for real world application of sophisticated data analytics in developing software and systems to not only automate sensor data analysis and interpretation but interface with how system outputs and information can be best presented in an appropriate time frame to the WDS operator. The technology developed in this project will be tested on a pilot area within the Liverpool Demand Monitoring Zone.

The STREAM IDC

The STREAM Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) programme is delivered by five of the major academic centres of excellence in water science and engineering in the UK. For further information, visit the STREAM web site at: www.stream-idc.net/index.php.

The project will be supervised by Dr Steve Mounce and Prof Joby Boxall at the University of Sheffield in collaboration with partners from United Utilities, including day to day industrial supervisor Dr Michele Romano. The post will be based within water company premises but the candidate will also be a member of the PWG team:

www.shef.ac.uk/penninewatergroup

Eligibility Criteria

Normal EPSRC funding eligibility applies to this award, so students must have a relevant connection with the UK (usually established by residence). See www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/eligibility for further details.

The ideal applicant for this position must have:

• A good honours (2:1 or above) degree in Engineering or Physical Science
• Relevant experience to perform mathematical and analytical tasks at a very competent level including expertise in a high level programming language such as MATLAB or Python
• Good interpersonal, presentation and management skills
• Effective communication and excellent IT skills
• An ability to travel between the partner institutions 

In addition, desirable candidate criteria are;

• An understanding of the water sector
• Skills and experience with direct technical relevance to the proposed research project (e.g. water distribution systems, hydraulic simulation modelling, GIS, machine learning and data analytics). In addition, familiarity with the OSIsoft PI System and interfaces would be beneficial. 

For further information on the project please visit the ‘Opportunities’page of the PWG Pennine Water Group web site:

www.shef.ac.uk/penninewatergroup/opps

How to apply

Interested candidates should email a covering letter and their Curriculum

Vitae to Miss Lindsay Hopcroft (l.hopcroft<στο>sheffield.ac.uk).

For information and informal enquiries please contact: Dr Steve Mounce (s.r.mounce<στο>sheffield.ac.uk).