02 postdoctoral positions at University of Leeds

1. Research Fellow in Demand Responsive Transport Systems

Do you have research expertise in Choice Modelling and/or Econometrics? Are you interested in bridging different techniques to advance the state-of-the-art transport models and make a real-world impact?

Shared mobility solutions have been widely studied in the past two decades, but despite their potential to improve efficiency and affordability of travel, they have remained fairly limited in scope and geographical spread and have not significantly reduced the use and ownership of private vehicles. Dial-a-ride is a specific type of shared mobility tool, involving a door-to-door service usually directed to people who cannot access public transport. Scaling up such service to a wider audience in an efficient, sustainable and affordable way is the challenge that we would like you help us address. 

Part of this challenge consists in engaging relevant stakeholders and understanding people’s preferences and expectations towards such services. This is essential to ensure that the so that their routing, scheduling and pricing can be designed to maximise demand and ensure financial sustainability in the long term. Both qualitative and quantitative data will need to be collected and analysed with choice modelling and econometric techniques to obtain robust insights that will feed into the mathematical modelling needed to design the service.

The project within which you would work, named “A scaled and sustainable demand responsive transport service”, is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UKRI and led by Prof. Rym M’Hallah (King’s College London). As a member of the team, you will be working with Prof Julia Bennel and Dr Chiara Calastri and be based at the Leeds University Business School with cross-university collaborations through the Institute for Transport Studies and Choice Modelling Centre (CMC). You will also collaborate with Prof Christine Currie (University of Southampton) and participate to project meetings in Leeds, London and Southampton.

We are looking for a committed, highly motivated and innovative individual with econometrics and/or choice modelling background to work in this exciting research project. You are expected to contribute to designing and conducting novel data collection and developing choice models in the context of dial-a-ride services. You will also be expected to produce methodological contributions in bridging choice modelling and large scale optimization.  As this is a multi-faceted research project, you will be able to contribute to individual components of the work as well as helping to shape the direction of the research according to your own interests and background. You will be expected to take academic ownership of large parts of the programme and make a lasting contribution to the field. 

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Dr Chiara Calastri, Email: c.calastri@leeds.ac.uk

 

Location:	Leeds - Main Campus
Faculty/Service:	Faculty of Business
School/Institute:	Department of Management
Category:	Research
Grade:	Grade 7
Salary:	£36,333 to £43,155 per annum
Post Type:	Full Time
Contract Type:	Fixed Term (2 years)
Release Date:	Thursday 01 June 2023
Closing Date:	Friday 30 June 2023
Reference:	BUSMG1001
Downloads:	Candidate Brief

Apply Online

 

2. Research Fellow in Soft Magnetic Surgical Robots

Do you want to make a difference in patients’ quality of life by creating innovative robots that are able to treat incurable diseases? Are you excited about contributing to scientific research in surgical robotics? Are you able to think outside the box to find innovative solutions to life-threatening diseases?  Do you want to join a world-leading team of roboticists, manufacturing engineers, and clinicians?

We are looking for a proactive individual to join our Science and Technology Of Robotics in Medicine (STORM) Lab, bringing their excitement for scientific research in surgical robotics with them. 

At the STORM Lab, we strive to improve the quality of life for people undergoing soft-tissue surgery and flexible endoscopy by creating miniature and non-invasive robots. This includes the creation and investigation of miniature capsule-like or tentacle robots to work inside the human body. At the STORM Lab, we are designing and creating soft and compliant robotic devices that can be used within the human body to detect and cure diseases in a non-invasive way.

This vacancy is created by a major EPSRC grant awarded to the University of Leeds, which aims to define a new generation of soft magnetic surgical robots that can be guided within the human body by magnetic fields to diagnose and treat cancer at an early stage thanks to advanced imaging capabilities. The candidate will join a multi-disciplinary research team aiming at exploring innovative processes to manufacture patient-specific intelligent soft magnetic robots, modelling their behaviour under an external controllable magnetic field, and filed gradient, and testing them in realistic anatomical models. Target clinical applications include early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal, pancreatic, and lung cancer.

The fabrication and manufacturing elements will be conducted in collaboration with Professor Russell Harris of the Future Manufacturing Processes Research Group at the University of Leeds.

What we offer in return

• 26 days holiday plus approx.16 Bank Holidays/days that the University is closed by custom (including Christmas) – That’s 42 days a year!
• Generous pension scheme plus life assurance – the University contributes 21.6% of salary. 
• Health and Wellbeing: Discounted staff membership options at The Edge, our state-of-the-art Campus gym, with a pool, sauna, climbing wall, cycle circuit, and sports halls.
• Personal Development: Access to courses run by our Organisational Development & Professional Learning team, and self-development courses including languages, Creative Writing, Wellbeing Therapies and much more.
• Access to on-site childcare, shopping discounts and travel schemes are also available.

And much more! 

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Pietro Valdastri, PhD, Chair in Robotics and Autonomous Systems

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 3706

Email: P.Valdastri@leeds.ac.uk 

Location:	Leeds - Main Campus
Faculty/Service:	Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences
School/Institute:	School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering
Section:	Institute of Robotics, Autonomous Systems and Sensing
Category:	Research
Grade:	Grade 7
Salary:	£36,333 to £43,155 p.a.
	Due to funding restrictions, an appointment will not be made higher than £38,474 p.a.
Working Time:	37.5 hours per week
Post Type:	Full Time
Contract Type:	Fixed Term (2 years - Grant funding)
Release Date:	Thursday 01 June 2023
Closing Date:	Thursday 29 June 2023
Reference:	EPSEE1103
Downloads:	Candidate Brief

Apply Online