Jobs

Application(s) are invited from suitably qualified candidates for full-time (Irish Marine Institute) funded PhD scholarship(s) starting Feb-April, 2025 affiliated to the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Galway.

University of Galway

Located in the vibrant cultural city of Galway in the west of Ireland, the University of Galway has a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

Detailed Project Description: The PhD student will be the central figure in evaluating the use of relatively low-cost seabed platforms, deployed in a strategic array in Irish waters, as an environmental monitoring tool for marine spatial planning. Landers will be developed through knowledge gained from an existing low-cost platform delivery system (LanderPick), in collaboration with the LanderPick research group in IEO-Spain, with whom the successful researcher will spend time early in the PhD.  An array of landers will be used to monitor Essential Ocean variables (EOVs) at strategic locations at the Irish continental margin and shelf waters, including SACs where natural and anthropogenic environmental impacts require expert assessment. Data collected will inform the oceanographic processes causing extreme temperature changes (Marine Heat Waves - MHWs) and the connection of surface to deep water changes. The landers will also measure bottom currents and elucidate pressing science questions on the role of the continental margin currents (e.g. European Slope Current) in modulating the magnitude and the regional variability/connectivity of these changes. 

The researcher will be based between the MI and UoG and work will involve;

1. Assessment and design of the lander (and array) for multipurpose measurements including an extended research visit to IEO – Spain to the LanderPick research group to acquire essential skills in the use and operation of the lander system.
2. Analysis of data from current, and future, deployments of an Irish Array (ISLA) to assess benthic environmental conditions, continental margin currents, and other subsidiary biological observations (e.g. from camera systems at SACs)

• Analysis of marine heatwaves in Irish waters from existing (and collected) data (field and re-analysis), led by the research group at Maynooth University (Dr. G McCarthy) – again involving time spent in the research group.

Research details will be tailored to the strengths of the successful candidate, but the foundations of the research are as detailed above. The successful candidate will have an interest and knowledge in marine measurement technology and environmental/climate issues within the Irish marine realm. They will have strong and demonstrable numerical and data handling skills, as well as an appreciation of marine technology and observing systems for ocean measurements. The researcher will work towards producing scientific output that will support government actions to fulfil environmental and marine spatial planning legislation requirements.

Living allowance (Stipend): €25,000 per annum, [tax-exempt scholarship award]

University fees: €6,000 per annum

Start date: Earliest convenience in 2025, no later than April 2025.

• Academic Entry Requirements: A master’s degree or first-class honours B.Sc. in a relevant discipline (e.g. Oceanographic/Marine science, Applied computational science or similar), with a good foundation in marine hydrodynamics and interest in marine technology.

• Experience with field monitoring, data collection and demonstrable skill in statistical and large data analysis (inc. data manipulation skills (e.g. R, Matlab etc.).

To Apply for the Scholarship: Please email an introduction letter and current CV, indicating your research experience, and names of two referees, to Dr. Martin White martin.white@universityofgalway.ie with subject line ‘Cullen Ph.D. Application’.

Contact Name: Dr. Martin White

Contact Email: martin.white@universityofgalway.ie

Application Deadline: 03/01/2025 ,  16:00 Irish Time

Primary Supervisor name: Dr, Martin White (with Dr. Glenn Nolan (Marine Institute)

Application(s) are invited from suitably qualified candidates for full-time funded PhD scholarship(s) starting in February, 2025 affiliated to the Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering at the University of Galway.

University of Galway

Located in the vibrant cultural city of Galway in the west of Ireland, the University of Galway has a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

Detailed Project Description.

The project is funded by Research Ireland (formerly known as Science Foundation Ireland) through the I-Form Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (https://www.i-form.ie/). The aim of the project is to deliver predictive modelling and process characterisation for recycling waste alloys in the scenario of additive manufacturing.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an innovative advanced method of manufacturing, which deposits materials layer by layer to form 3-dimensional engineering components. As a fully automated method of net-shape manufacturing, it enables great design freedom and is particularly suitable for such as the rapid prototyping and the manufacture of customer-tailored high value-added components. Considering the sustainable manufacturing and circular economy, there is high demand in reusing or recycling the waste materials in the context of AM.

In this project, the powder bed fusion laser beam (PBF_LB) AM is used as the background, and the target material is Ti alloys. Regarding the computational modelling research, a multi-physics physically based computational modelling will be developed to predict the interaction between the AM process and reuse/recycling of waste Ti alloys. The modelling results will be used to train a machine learning model for rapid calculation to facilitate data-informed decision on the design of material reuse/recycling process. A number of Ti alloy specimen will be printed. The material properties of the specimen will be experimentally characterised. The experimental results will be used as the inputs and validation of the physically based computational modelling, and will be also used as the test set of the machine learning model.

This PhD will focus primarily on the development of the physically based computational model, machine learning model, testing and validation of the models, and related experimental research. The objective is to develop a computational tool kit, that can facilitate the design of material reuse/recycling processes for the AM of Ti alloys. The project has close collaboration with other research groups of I-Form Centre. Particularly, Prof. David Browne from UCD is the co-supervisor of the PhD student.

The candidate is expected to have great ability of self-learning, have very good teamwork spirit and be self-motivated. The candidate should have great interest in computational modelling and computer programming as well as decent background in terms of materials engineering. The successful candidate will become a member of the I-Form Research Centre for Advance Manufacturing and have opportunity to take placement at Prof. Browne’s laboratory.  

Living allowance (Stipend): €22,000 per annum, [scholarship award]

University fees: €5,500 per annum, [covered by the scholarship too]

Start date: 3^rd February, 2025

Academic Entry Requirements: 1^st class or 2.1 honours Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Materials Engineering or Mechanical engineering or closely related discipline (e.g. Manufacturing Engineering or Biomedical Engineering or Materials Science). Candidates must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and a strong passion and motivation for excellence in engineering research, with a view to publication, international conference presentations and collaborations. Candidates must also be motivated to work within a team to achieve overall project objectives.

Some specific requirements include:

• Knowledge of (and ideally experience with) computational modelling for science or engineering problems
• Knowledge of computer programming (using such as C++, Python etc.)
• Knowledge of material processing or manufacturing
• Knowledge of material testing/characterisation
• Problem-solving, critical thinking and troubleshooting skills.

To Apply for the Scholarship: Expressions of interest comprising submission of a covering letter, CV, statement of personal research interests, and the contact details of two referees, to be submitted via e-mail to mingming.tong@universityofgalway.ie

Contact Name: Dr Mingming Tong

Contact Email: mingming.tong@universityofgalway.ie

Application Deadline: 24^th January, 2025 at 17:00

Primary Supervisor name (if applicable): Dr Mingming Tong

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a full-time, 4-year PhD scholarship in the area of machine learning-based ocean forecasting starting in April 2025. The successful candidate will be based in the Civil Engineering in the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Galway, Ireland.

The position is funded by the Irish Marine Institute through the Cullen Fellowship Programme. The candidate will be co-supervised by Dr Stephen Nash (University of Galway) and Dr Tomasz Dabrowski (Marine Institute).

University of Galway

Located in the vibrant cultural city of Galway in the west of Ireland, the University of Galway has a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence.

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

Detailed Project Description.

The aim of this project is to investigate the potential for machine learning-based ocean forecast models. Ocean forecast models provide forecasts of ocean variables such as sea surface height (SSH), temperature, salinity and currents and thus play a significant role in human marine activities and the protection of marine and coastal communities. Currently, dynamic, process-based numerical models are used for ocean forecasting, but they are complex and computationally expensive.

The Marine Institute currently produces daily 3-day ocean forecasts for Irish waters using the dynamic ocean model ROMS (the Regional Ocean Modelling System) which covers a domain measuring approx. 1,500 x 2,200 km using a mean horizontal resolution of 1.9 km and 40 terrain-following vertical layers. It produces forecasts of ocean temperature, salinity, sea level and currents. Due to its size and high spatial resolution (circa 1 km near the Irish coastline), the model is very computationally expensive. Recent literature shows that machine learning models can provide an alternative to traditional dynamic numerical models, potentially achieving higher accuracy and shorter run-times.

This PhD will focus primarily on the development of a machine learning-based ocean forecast model for Irish waters and benchmark its performance against Marine Institute’s current dynamic ocean forecast model. The candidate’s duties will therefore include identification of appropriate machine learning algorithms, preparation of training and testing datasets,  training, testing and optimisation of machine learning models and benchmarking of model performance.

The candidate is expected to have a great ability of self-learning, very good teamwork skills and to be self-motivated. The candidate should have great interest in computational modelling and computer programming as well as a good background in machine learning. An interest in ocean modelling is also desirable. The candidate will be part of the Marine Modelling Group at University of Galway and will also work closely with staff from the ocean modelling unit in Marine Institute.

Living allowance (Stipend): €25,000 per annum, [scholarship award]

University fees: Covered by the scholarship in addition to stipend

Travel Allowance: up to €3,000 per annum

Start date: 7^th April, 2025

Academic Entry Requirements: 1^st class or 2.1 honours Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Ocean Engineering, Computing or a closely related discipline (e.g. civil or coastal engineering). Candidates must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and a strong passion and motivation for research excellence, with a view to publication of their work in scientific journals and at international conferences. Candidates must also possess excellent project management skills and be motivated to work within a team to achieve overall project objectives.

Some specific requirements include:

• Knowledge of computer programming (using such as C++, Python etc.)
• Knowledge of, and ideally experience working with, machine learning models
• Knowledge of (and ideally experience with) computational modelling for oceanographic or fluid dynamics problems
• Problem-solving, critical thinking and troubleshooting skills.

To Apply for the Scholarship: Expressions of interest comprising submission of a covering letter, CV, statement of personal research interests, and the contact details of two referees, to be submitted via e-mail to stephen.nash@universityofgalway.ie with the subject title Cullen PhD Fellowship 2025.

Contact Name: Dr Stephen Nash

Contact Email: stephen.nash@universityofgalway.ie  

Application Deadline: 7^th February, 2025 at 17:00

Primary Supervisor name: Dr Stephen Nash (with Dr Tomasz Dabrowski of Marine Institute.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a full-time funded PhD scholarships starting in March 2025 affiliated to the College of Science & Engineering / School of Biological & Chemical Sciences / Ryan Institute at the University of Galway.

University of Galway

Located in the vibrant cultural city of Galway in the west of Ireland, the University of Galway has a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

Detailed Project Description Agriculture in Ireland is an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions. The sector is obligated to achieve a 25% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, and to reduce ammonia emissions. Dairy farming accounts for around 15% of national GHG emissions, but makes an important contribution to economic growth, particularly in rural areas. Future growth is challenged by the need to meet national emissions reduction targets. We have designed and tested a system of milk production that substantially lowers the GHG and ammonia footprints of milk production, whilst maintaining productivity and profitability. The objective of this scholarship is to investigate the implementation of this low-emission system on commercial dairy farms in terms of environmental footprints and farm profitability. The student will have access to state-of-the-art models and a unique data set on real-world performance of innovative low-emission practices. This work will support development of a blueprint for low-emission pasture-based dairy systems that will deliver impact across the commercial dairy production and climate policy. 

The successful candidate should be highly self-motivated and be prepared for laboratory work, life cycle assessment (LCA) and economic evaluation of farm data using MS Excel and LCA software, and fieldwork with modern analytical equipment. Fluent English language skills and a full EU driving licence are essential.

Living allowance (Stipend): €25,000 per annum, [tax-exempt scholarship award]

University fees: €6000 per annum

Start date: 01/03/2025 (or as soon as possible thereafter)

Academic Entry Requirements: First or 2.1 Honours) or M.Sc. in an appropriate discipline (Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, Earth Sciences, etc.).

To Apply for the Scholarship: email james.humphreys@teagasc.ie

Contact Name: Dr David Styles, University of Galway  

Contact Email: David.styles@universityofgalway.ie

Application Deadline: 02 /02 /2025 and time [23:59] (Irish time 24hr format)

Primary Supervisor name: David Styles

ROSETTA is an innovative fellowship programme co-ordinated by the University of Galway and will involve four other universities (Implementing Partners): University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick and Trinity College Dublin. The programme is co-funded by LERO, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, the Horizon Europe Marie Skodowska Curie Actions programme and the University of Galway. ROSETTA fellows will be provided with the highest quality research environment and a training programme where they will critically examine the development, use and regulation of technology from a time perspective across all aspects of life from children, people with disabilities, people in the workplace, to healthcare and social inclusion for older people.

ROSETTA will be recruiting 19 fellowships, each with a duration of 2 years, providing an unparalleled opportunity for Postdoctoral Researchers to delve into the critical intersection of time and technology in our rapidly evolving digital landscape. 

We are seeking fellows with an interest in the broad research area of ‘the true impact of technology on our time’ to bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to this research. Whether you're passionate about information systems, business, law, computer science, medicine, sociology, biomedical engineering, psychology, or any other related discipline, we want to hear from you!

Applications are invited from suitable candidates for 19 full-time fixed term Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral Fellows (PFs) at University of Galway. Up to 10 fellowships may be awarded on the 1st Call.

ROSETTA Fellowships are open to applicants of any nationality who have a PhD degree and comply with the programme’s eligibility criteria and mobility rule. Researchers at Risk are encouraged to apply. All candidates must discuss their research idea and proposal and seek the support of an eligible ROSETTA supervisor for their application.

All fellowships will be based in Ireland where fellows will be hosted by their ROSETTA supervisor’s host institution.

The programme aims to provide exceptional training and career development opportunities to postdoctoral researchers, fostering international mobility, intersectoral collaboration, and interdisciplinary exposure.

Further information can be found in the Guide for Applicants to ROSETTA at https://rosetta.lero.ie/call-for-proposals/

This project has received co-funding from Horizon Europe’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Grant Agreement No:101126578.

Essential Criteria:

As per the MSCA definition:

• ROSETTA is open to applicants who have a PhD degree at the call deadline. Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have not formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered eligible to apply. The successful defence must take place before the call deadline.
• Applicants must comply with the MSCA mobility rule: have not resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Ireland for more than 12 months in the three years immediately before the call deadline. Compulsory national service and short stays such as holidays are not considered.
• Applicants must have working proficiency in English or be fluent in English. Applicants whose first language is not English may be required to provide evidence of their English proficiency.

Please note:

• ROSETTA Fellowships are open to candidates of any nationality.  Please see Employment Permits - University of Galway for further information.
• ROSETTA will support applications from those displaced by conflict or whose situation makes it difficult to pursue research careers. Researchers at Risk are encouraged to apply. Please see: Guidelines for Inclusion of Researchers at Risk | Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (europa.eu) for further information.

Gross Salary:

Remuneration is in line with EC rules for Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND grants.

Level 1: €50,124 gross salary* per annum (excluding family allowance) or €57,252 gross salary* per annum (if conditions for family allowance are met).

*Gross salary is inclusive of a mobility allowance of €6,480 annually payable as part of their gross salary which shall be fixed for 24 months during the fellowship period.

Salaries are subject to taxes and deductions, e.g., deduction of PRSI (employee social security), and income taxes. For more information about tax entitlements, please go to https://www.revenue.ie/

Training and Career Development

Fellows are encouraged to avail of training and development opportunities to support their career development plans. All fellowships will include a secondment period. Fellows will have the flexibility to select a secondment with the non-academic or academic sector to suit their research and career development. Researchers are encouraged to engage with our Researcher Development Centre (RDC) upon employment. The RDC is an initiative of the offices of the VPR and Graduate Studies to support the continuing professional development of all our researchers at University of Galway.

For information on moving to Ireland, please see www.euraxess.ie. 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Galway is committed to principles of equality and encouraging diversity and inclusion. Several of the participating academic Institutions and Schools are holders of Athena SWAN awards. We celebrate the diversity of our staff and students and work to support an inclusive environment free from discrimination and harassment.

To Apply: The application process should include an Online application + Administrative Proposal as follows:

• Part A: Administrative Proposal: Max 2000 characters
• Part B: Research Proposal (max. 10 pages)
• Part C: Academic CV: Max 5 pages (With three references)
• Part D: Ethics Issues Table and Self-Assessment Form

Candidates must develop a project proposal in line with ROSETTA Research Themes and submit their complete application via the online application system. The system will remain open for applications until midnight (UTC) on the call deadline of Friday, 27^th September 2024.

See Guidance Documents, Terms & Conditions and https://rosetta.lero.ie/ for more information.

For informal enquiries, contact the University of Galway programme manager at rosetta@lero.ie.  Please put reference number University of Galway 110-24 in subject line of all queries related to this post.

The closing date for receipt of completed applications is Friday, 27^th September 2024 at 23.59 UTC.

We reserve the right to re-advertise or extend the closing date for this post. 

The University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer. 

All positions are recruited via an internationally advertised open call for proposals. The evaluation and selection process will follow an Open, Transparent, Merit (OTM) and Competency-based Recruitment process and will include an international peer review followed by an interview stage.