The studentships are funded through the STREAM Industrial Doctorate Centre for the UK Water Sector. This unique 4-year studentship allows doctoral-level research to be conducted while working directly with an industrial partner in the water sector, providing a more vocationally oriented approach to obtaining a doctorate in engineering commensurate with that of a PhD. The programme also allows participants to receive postgraduate-level technical and transferable skills training at five leading UK universities in the water research field. For further information, visit the STREAM web site at:http://www.stream-idc.net/index.php.

Background

The climate change projections for the UK suggest futures under which the current operation of industry water industry assets may become challenged. However as the understanding of how assets respond to current weather patterns is limited it is difficult to model future investment needs including climate/weather data/trends. Research has been done to identify:

• the asset types at risk,
• the climate impacts and thresholds at which operational difficulties may start to occur,
• what climate/weather and/or surrogate operational parameters would be appropriate for use in a monitoring strategy.

However work still needs to be done to understand how such information can be translated into an effective monitoring and data analysis strategy that would allow appropriate investment decisions to be made. Therefore the project is aimed at developing an asset monitoring strategy that allows Anglian Water to understand how the weather affects the operation of its assets.

The successful applicant will need to demonstrate strong analytic skills, knowledge of water sector issues and associated climate change challenges. Prior experience in developing monitoring strategies would be advantageous.

The EngD will be supervised by Dr Nick Voulvoulis, Reader in Environmental Technology, Centre for Environmental Policy (http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/environmentalpolicy) in partnership with David Quincy , Anglian Water (http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/). The post will be based within water company premises and Imperial College. Some additional time will be spent at the five partner universities to receive postgraduate training.

Eligibility Criteria

Normal EPSRC funding eligibility applies to this award, so students must have a relevant connection with the UK (usually established by residence).

The ideal applicant for this position must have:

• A good honours degree in Engineering or Environmental Sciences
• Relevant experience developing monitoring strategies
• Good interpersonal, presentation and management skills
• Effective communication and IT skills
• An ability to travel between the partner institutions

How to apply

To apply please send a detailed CV (including the names of two referees) and a covering letter explaining your current interests and relevant background by email to Natalia Petrou (knp12@imperial.ac.uk), quoting the PhD studentship title. Please note that the successful candidate will be asked to submit a PhD research application to the Registry at Imperial College to ensure they have met the College’s admissions criteria.

For information and informal enquiries please contact: Dr Nick Voulvoulis (n.voulvoulis<στο>imperial.ac.uk).

Interview Date: Mid May

Interview Venue: Imperial College London

Start Date: 5^th October 2015 (contract duration 4 years)