The role

The purpose of this role is to support the Principal Investigator (Dr Rainer Groh) in delivering an ambitious research program funded through the UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship. By combining modern computational design with robotic manufacturing, the goal is to create free-form structural structures incorporating short recycled fiber composites that rival the load-carrying capacity of continuous virgin fiber composites. A unique feature of this role will be close collaboration with two separate companies from the University of Bristol.

The role holder will be an experienced researcher specializing in the fields of composite materials, structural mechanics, optimization and finite element analysis. Aside from computational experience, the role holder will also be comfortable fabricating and performing experimental tests on prototypes. Previous experience with tow guided vehicles and/or short fiber vehicles is desirable but not essential. A unique feature of the project is the detailed consideration of the interplay between structural form and manufacturing quality in designing the most performing composite structure.

The role holder will be expected to contribute their own ideas and/or enhance methodologies to ensure the successful implementation of the larger research project. The research results will be published by the role holder in leading journals and conferences in the field of composite materials, structural mechanics and engineering sciences.

In addition to research, the role holder can, where practical, contribute to teaching, through joint supervision of PhD students and teaching support for the PI’s final year unit. Mechanics of lightweight and composite structures. In addition to academic and pastoral support within the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Aerospace and Design, training in effective communication, leadership and entrepreneurship will be provided through a dedicated PI Future Leadership Fellow training programme, in order to prepare the role holder to take on further responsibilities in the future.

What will you do?

The role holder will:

• Implement custom models or use ready-to-use finite element models for variable geometries and composites with variable stiffness
• Implement custom optimization algorithms that combine shell geometry and fiber distribution while taking into account nonlinearity and uncertainty
• Conduct optimization studies and supervise the fabrication of free-form veneer structures with custom fiber distributions
• Communicate with other project researchers and the manufacturing team to improve manufacturing quality
• Prepare and conduct structural tests to validate simulations and demonstrate the performance of designed structures
• Disseminate research findings to relevant stakeholders, partners and the wider academic community through publications and presentations at conferences
• Co-supervise PhD students working on the wider project

You must apply then

• You are passionate about sustainability and recycled composite materials specifically
• You have a strong background in structural mechanics, ideally in relation to composite materials
• You have experience and enjoy advanced computational modeling and optimization of lightweight structures
• Proficient in scripting languages ​​(such as Matlab, Python, Julia) and have advanced finite element modeling skills
• You are passionate about working at the interface of structural mechanics and automated manufacturing
• You have a desire to explore the real-world impact of your research

Additional information

For informal inquiries please contact: Rainer Groh (rainer.groh@bristol.ac.uk)

To find out more about what it’s like to work at the College of Engineering, and how the College supports people to achieve their potential, please see our staff blog:

https://engineering.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/category/engineering-includes-me/

Contract type: Open with fixed financing until 11/30/2029