Research Associate

Applications are invited for two Research Associates to investigate core to field characterisation and upscaling to improve the numerical modelling of the flow carbon dioxide flow through saline aquifers for carbon storage underground. The aim is to demonstrate the impact of upscaling CO2flow in reservoirs, accounting for small scale heterogeneities, on case study storage sites in the UK and around the world. These tools will to be used by engineers to estimate the volume and security of CO2trapped during geological sequestration to mitigate climate change.

The research will be carried out under the BEIS funded CCUS Innovation project StrataTrapper (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/236854/carbon-storage-imperial-researchers-beis-funding/). You will be expected to work closely with partners in the StrataTrapper consortium at the University of Cambridge, Drax, Storegga, BP and OpenGoSim as well as publish papers in international refereed journals and give presentations at relevant international conferences. This project is funded by BEIS.

Duties and responsibilities

Research Duties:

• Evaluate upscaling techniques suitable for incorporating the impact of small scale heterogeneity on field scale CO2flow
• Implement and test upscaling techniques in commercial reservoir simulation including OpenGoSim-PFlotran and CMG
• Evaluate the impact of heterogeneities on field scale deployment of CO2storage at case study sites
• Generate bi-yearly reports for milestone reporting back to BEIS

Other Duties:

• To undertake appropriate administration tasks
• To attend relevant meetings
• To undertake any necessary training and/or development

Where Imperial or funder conditions necessitate, you will be required to complete timesheets for your work on projects in a timely manner.

Essential requirements

Applicants should have completed or about to obtain a PhD, or equivalent, in the modelling and analysis of porous media flow or in a related field. You should also be able to write computer programs and ideally have a background in fluid dynamics as well as expertise in using commercial simulation tools for the numerical modelling of porous media flows. It would be expected that the successful candidate would have a track record of publishing papers and giving presentations at international conferences.

Further information

This is a full time, fixed term position for 18 months. You will be based at south Kensington Campus.

Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as a Research Assistant within the salary range £38,194 - £41,388 per annum.

You will be working in the internationally leading Subsurface CO2Research Group in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. We are a friendly and nurturing department that combines teaching and research in Earth Sciences with related Engineering disciplines. The topics we are interested in reach from blue sky Earth Science (e.g. Earth interior, surface, and its place within the solar system), to integration with related subsurface energy, environmental, mining and minerals Engineering. Overall we employ ~50 academic staff members, ~70 postdoctoral research scientists, ~170 PhD students, ~145 MSc students, and ~300 undergraduate students.

Informal inquiries about the position can be made to Dr Samuel Krevor (s.krevor@imperial.ac.uk) or Professor Ann Muggeridge a.muggeridge@imperial.ac.uk).

The College is currently trialling a Work Location Framework until early 2023. Hybrid working may be considered for this role and the role holder may be expected to work 60% or more of their time onsite, with 40% the minimum time spent onsite. The opportunity for hybrid working will be discussed at interview.

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity/animal-research/

Documents

• Job Description Research Associate ENG02454.pdf