University of Exeter

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and QS World University Ranking 2024).  We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2023, underpinned by Gold ratings for Student Experience and Student Outcomes.

Our world-leading research impact has grown more than any other Russell Group university in recent years, and we are home to some of the world’s most influential researchers, seeking to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today.  More than 99% of our research is of international quality and 47% is world-leading (2021 Research Excellence Framework). 

We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research – Green Futures and how we are transforming education for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. 

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

Homepage: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/

Environment, Science and Economy Faculty

These new full-time posts are available with a flexible start date before 2025 on a 3-year fixed term basis. There are two potions available. 

The posts

The Faculty wishes to recruit two post-Doctoral Research Fellow/Associates of three-year duration to work on modelling deliberate climate intervention to cool the planet and counterbalance the impacts of global warming. These posts are fully funded by Quadrature Climate Foundation with an indicative start date by end December 2025.

The climate crisis means that the targets set by COP21 may soon be exceeded leading to increasingly damaging climate impacts. While stringent mitigation methods are obviously essential, greenhouse gas concentrations and the associated climate change are projected to continue under all future scenarios exposing the Earth to increasingly damaging extreme events and potential tipping points. The successful applicant will be expected to work on modelling the impacts of solar radiation modification (SRM) to provide an objective assessment of their feasibility.

Post #1

The successful candidate will work on High-Resolution Modelling of Marine Cloud Brightening and Marine Sky Brightening. Studies have shown that injection of sea-salt aerosol into the marine boundary layer can brighten clouds (marine cloud brightening, MCB), but also can have a significant impact via the direct reflection of sunlight (marine sky brightening, MSB). This project will model the impacts of MCB and MSB over limited areas such as the Mediterranean and Carribean to examine potential impacts of a range of deployment on local plumes, air-quality, visibility, wildfires and extreme weather. High resolution atmosphere-only and fully coupled atmosphere-ocean models will be used to examine both the impacts of deployment and the climate response. Candidates should have strong experience in climate modelling preferably with the UKESM1 or other climate model frameworks, and an appreciation of the climatic impacts of aerosols.

Post #2

We propose developing a novel emulator of the climate outcomes of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) which depends on the method of injection (amount, latitude, season, height), using an approach similar to that developed for predicting the climatic impacts of explosive volcanic eruptions (Marshall et al., 2019) for UKESM1. Emulation of marine cloud brightening (MCB) will also potentially be investigated. Such statistical climate emulators are trained on climate model data and are thus much faster to run providing results relevant to policymakers that will be available almost instantaneously. This work will help narrow down optimal strategies for any potential future deployment. Candidates should have strong experience in climate modelling, preferably with the UKESM1 climate model, and an interest in machine learning and emulator development.

Further details and application forms can be found on the University of Exeter website:-

Job search

Further information about the jobs can be obtained through contacting Prof Jim Haywood (j.m.haywood@exeter.ac.uk)