UK FIRES seeks a highly motivated Research Associate/Senior Research Associate to work with Professor Julian Allwood and the wider UK FIRES academic team, on a one-year pilot-study project on the timelines of delivering climate mitigation projects. The year's project will involve a combination of literature review and interviews and will lay the foundations for our future funding proposals.
UK FIRES (2019-2024) is an EPSRC Programme Grant, focused on identifying opportunities for business growth compatible with the analysis in our ground-breaking report Absolute Zero. This explored the delivery of zero emissions in the UK by 2050, using technologies that already exist at commercial scale and with realistic deployment rates. Our work to date includes analyses for the UK Catapult Networks, several powerful software tools, three spinout companies, extensive political and commercial engagement, and a diversity of academic publications.
The political discussions triggered by our analysis all pivot on the speed at which mitigation projects can be delivered: for example, can emissions-free hydrogen projects be scaled faster than the switch to all-recycled steel production? Delivery timelines for climate mitigation are poorly understood, hence this one-year pilot study aims to scope the area and set an agenda for our future research and impact.
Within this project, the appointee will write a comprehensive and fresh survey of existing understanding of project timescales from diverse studies, mapped into the context of delivering mitigation, validated in semi-structured interviews with diverse stakeholders.
Applicants for both Research Associate and Senior Research Associate grades should have a PhD or equivalent research experience in a related area, including project management, innovation, sustainable transitions or similar, should be able to follow the role-specification closely, and have excellent writing skills.
Appointment at Senior Research Associate level is dependent on additional significant experience as a research associate or equivalent with proven impact from authored publications.
The post holder will be located in central Cambridge.