Fellow profile

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We are looking for a highly motivated, curiosity-driven postdoctoral scholar with a background in Hydrological Modelling and/or Computer Science to integrate into the interdisciplinary UKRI Frontier Research project DAWN, led by Dr Arnald Puy (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom).

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DAWN merges philosophy, anthropology, hydrology and mathematical modelling to unfold, analyze and assimilate the ambiguities ingrained in the modelling of irrigation water demands. See the DAWN webpage for more information about the project’s rationale. Its concept and track-record is also summarized in these publications [1–6].

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The candidate should hold a PhD in Hydrological Modelling, Computer Science or a cognate discipline. No specific years of experience as a postdoc are required in order to apply and we welcome applications from candidates from the UK or abroad. Women are specially encouraged to apply. Programming skills in R and C++ will be especially valued.

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Specific tasks

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The candidate will start in September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter and will hold a fixed term contract for two consecutive years. S/he will be based at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham.

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The main job will consist in:

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1.  Working with the DAWN team to code a high-quality model to estimate global irrigation water withdrawals. This model will merge the scientific and the traditional knowledge on irrigation and will be designed to account for the main structural and parametric uncertainties affecting the estimation.

2.   Making the model as computationally efficient as possible by implementing state-of-the-art C++ bits, vectorization, parallelization and efficient memory allocation where required.

3.   Disseminating the results of the research in scientific papers and at congresses, conferences and other scientific venues.

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The candidate is also expected to pursue its own research interests within the scope of DAWN and develop an independent scientific profile. Other responsibilities will include:

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1.  Develop research objectives and proposals forown or joint research.

2.  Contribute to writing bids for research funding.

3.   Provide guidance to DAWN PhD students where appropriate.

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Benefits

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

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1.  A progressive salary at grade 7, spinal point 36. Click here for more details.

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

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

4.   An impressive range of benefits, including generous annual leave allowance, pension scheme, shopping discounts and more. Click here for more details.

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How to apply?

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Please send the following documents via e-mail to Dr Arnald Puy [a.puy@bham.ac.uk; with “DAWN: Postdoctoral Fellowship (Hydrological Modelling and/or Computer Science)” in the e-mail subject line]:

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1.  Covering letter (1 page max) outlining academic interests and reasons for undertaking this project.

2.  CV (5 page max) with details on your track record and publications.

3.   Details of two academic referees.

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‍Please note that we will not contact your referees for references. You must tell your referees to send their references to Dr Puy by e-mail.

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The closing date for applications in 1 March 2025. Please apply as soon as possible as we will evaluate applications as they come through. We reserve the right to remove the advert if asuitable candidate is found before the closing date. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in the third and fourth week of March 2025. The successful candidate is expected to take up the post in September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

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 The University of Birmingham (UoB) is a global top 100 university and a member of the elite Russell Group of UK universities. Over one third of the academic staff are from overseas, around 22% are from BAME backgrounds and 5% have a declared disability. Diversity is understood as a strength and UoB aims at providing a welcoming environment for all members of the University Community. More information can be found here.

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THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM

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The second largest city in the UK and the youngest city inEurope, Birmingham is one of the best places to live in the UK. A cultural melting pot, it boosts great theatres, museums, the world famous City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, more canals than Venice and outstanding concert venues.

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Despite its recent growth, Birmingham offers almost everything you would want from a big city while enjoying a relatively moderate cost of living –for instance, housing prices are c. 170%cheaper than in London (and a pint can be 70% cheaper!). The c. 8,000 acres of award-winning green spaces and parks (such as Cannon Hill, Highbury Park or Kings Heath park) makes Birmingham the city with the largest green areas in Europe.

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Birmingham has also been hailed as Britain’s “most exciting food destination” in the Good Food Guide, highlighting the extraordinary quality of its food scene –from its five restaurants with Michelin stars to Balti, curry and independent cafes, bars and restaurants.

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REFERENCES

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[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.

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[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.

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[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.

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[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).

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[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.

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[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.

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