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Research Assistant

Job details
Posting date: 22 July 2025
Salary: £30,805 to £31,637 per year
Hours: Full time
Closing date: 21 August 2025
Location: Durham, County Durham, DH1 3LE
Company: Durham University
Job type: Contract
Job reference: 25001013_1753191904

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Summary

Applications are invited for a Research Assistant in chemical engineering and mechanical engineering with a particular emphasis on chemical energy material characterisation. The research project "NNZA: Decarbonisation of data centres using novel thermochemical technology" is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Northern Net Zero Accelerator (NNZA) Program.

The NNZA is a £5M, four-year programme funded by the EPSRC's Place-Based Impact Accelerator grant, aimed at driving innovation in low-carbon energy generation, storage, and end-use integration to decarbonise the North East, Teesside and Humber region. The programme is a collaboration of regional universities including Durham University, Northumbria University, Teesside University, Sunderland University, and Hull University with Newcastle University as the lead institution.

The ideal candidate will hold (or be near completion of) a PhD in Chemical Engineering, Energy Engineering, or a closely related field, with a strong focus on chemical energy materials. The successful applicant will be expected to conduct high-quality, experimental research aimed at demonstrating thermochemical energy systems for heating and cooling applications. The Research Assistant will directly work with Dr Huashan Bao, Dr Zhiwei Ma and Professor Tony Roskilly in the Department of Engineering.

This post is fixed term for 9 months as the project is time limited and will end on 31st May 2025.

The post-holder is employed to work on research / a research project which will be led by another colleague. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his / her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas / adaptation and development of research protocols.

The successful applicant will, ideally, be in post by 1 September 2025.

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