Project description

‍

This PhD project will study the journey of knowledge claims generated by water system models, from their production to their adoption across scientific communities and broader society. Specifically, it will implement network citation analysis to explore how the knowledge produced with water models travels beyond the water modelling field to influence disciplines such as climate science, agriculture and policy-making. It will also implement data mining and sentiment analysis to examine how these knowledge claims shape public opinions, emotions and policy preferences in social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. A key goal of the research will be to assess whether the communication of these claims reinforces specific narratives.

‍

The precise scope of the project will be finally defined between the successful candidate and the PhD supervisor/s after the candidate has been appointed. The successful candidate will hence be able to shape the PhD project to their specific interests.

‍

Project background

‍

The successful candidate will join the £1.7M Frontier Research Grant project "DAWN: Illuminating Deep Uncertainties in the Estimation of Irrigation Water Withdrawals", funded by the UK Research and Innovation. DAWN merges philosophy, anthropology, hydrology and mathematical modelling to explore how ambiguities, vaguenesses and pluralities of perspectives affect our understanding of water use in irrigation. DAWN’s proof-of-concept is summarized  these publications [1–6].

‍

The candidate will be based at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences ,University of Birmingham. S/he will be supervised by Dr Arnald Puy and another scholar from Birmingham.

‍

The candidate is expected to join the University of Birmingham and start the PhD research in September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

‍

Project benefits

‍

Besides an exciting and caring interdisciplinary research environment, we also offer:

‍

1.  A fully funded 3-year PhD studentship that will cover home tuition fees and provide the student with a tax-free stipend according to UKRI rates.

2.  A brand new Macbook Pro for the whole duration of the project.

3.  Funding available to cover attendance to congresses, workshops or training courses.

4.  Integration into a highly interdisciplinary team with a wide international network, with extraordinary opportunities for career development.

5.   An impressive range of benefits to help the student settle and stay at the University, and deal with problems that may affect their learning through professional advice and help. Click here for more details.

‍

Student profile

‍

1.   This studentship is only for UK-based students. No international students will be considered.

2.  We are looking for candidates with a skeptical mind, used to think out-of-the-box and willing to go out of their comfort zones as the PhD project will be interdisciplinary by design.

3.  We especially encourage women to apply.

4.  Applicants should have a good first degree (at least a 2:1 Honours Degree) in a relevant subject. Candidates with Masters in Hydrology, Science and Technology Studies, Environmental Sciences, Sustainability, Data Analysis or cognate disciplines are especially encouraged to apply.

5.  The candidate does not need to have finished the Masters by the time of application. We expect the candidate to have completed his/her master studies before starting over in Birmingham.

6.   Programming skills (in R) will also be valued, although training will be provided within the context of the PhD as needed.

‍

How to apply?

‍

Please send the following documents via e-mail to Dr Arnald Puy [a.puy@bham.ac.uk; with “DAWN:PhD studentship application (water model insights)” in the e-mail subject line]:

‍

1.  Application form filled out with the required information. You can download the application form here.

2.  CV (2 page max) with details on your grades and studies.

3.  Details of two academic referees. Please note that we will not contact your referees for references. You must arrange for references to be submitted by your referees.

‍

Please apply as soon as possible as we will evaluate applications as they come through. We reserve the right to remove the advert if suitable candidate/s are found before the closing date (28 February 2025). Interviews with shortlisted applicants will take place at the beginning of March 2025. The successful candidate is expected to take up the post in September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

‍

REFERENCES

‍

[1]    A. Puy, E. Borgonovo, S. Lo Piano, S. A. Levin, and A. Saltelli. “Irrigated Areas Drive Irrigation Water Withdrawals”. Nature Communications 12.1 (2021), p. 4525. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24508-8.

‍

[2]    A. Puy, B. Lankford, J. Meier, S. van der Kooij, and A. Saltelli. “Large Variations in Global Irrigation Withdrawals Caused by Uncertain Irrigation Efficiencies”. Environmental Research Letters 17.4 (2022), p. 044014. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac5768.

‍

[3]    A. Puy, M. Massimi, B. Lankford, and A. Saltelli. “Irrigation Modelling Needs Better Epistemology”. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2023). doi: 10.1038/s43017023-00459-0.

‍

[4]    A. Puy and B. Lankford. “The Water Crisis by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water: A Totalising Narrative Built on Shaky Numbers”. Water Alternatives 17.2 (2024).

‍

[5]    A. Puy, P. Beneventano, S. A. Levin, S. Lo Piano, T. Portaluri, and A. Saltelli.“Models with Higher Effective Dimensions Tend to Produce More Uncertain Estimates”. Science Advances 8.42(2022), eabn9450. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn9450.

‍

[6]    A. Puy, R. Sheikholeslami, H. V. Gupta, J. W. Hall, B. Lankford, S. Lo Piano, J.Meier, F. Pappenberger, A. Porporato, G. Vico, and A. Saltelli. “The Delusive Accuracy of Global Irrigation Water Withdrawal Estimates”. Nature Communications 13 (2022), p. 3183. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30731-8.

‍

‍