Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow

University of Exeter - Environment Science and Economics

Placed On: 28th October 2025

Closes: 23rd November 2025

Job Ref: Q09639

This new full-time post is available from as soon as possible on a fixed term basis for 3 years (finishing no later than April 2029)

Ideally looking for a candidate who can work 1FTE but potentially open to someone working 0.8FTE.

The posts

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Associate of three-years duration to work on UplandDep This post is fully funded by the following grantee and project:-

• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) via the Improving pollutant deposition estimates to upland ecosystems project (UplandDep)

Atmospheric deposition is a major removal pathway of atmospheric pollutants, such as nitrogen, and deposition can lead to plant damage and affect biodiversity. Complex orography has a substantial impact on deposition, but this orographic impact has large uncertainties and is poorly represented in atmospheric chemistry and transport models. The UplandDep project will make significant progress in the understanding of deposition processes in complex upland terrain. The successful applicant will be expected to work on improving the representation of deposition processes in complex terrain within the Met Office’s atmospheric dispersion model, NAME, alongside colleagues at UKCEH working on the EMEP model. The tasks will involve analysing the accuracy and use of input meteorological data for deposition modelling in upland areas, implementing improvements to the representation in NAME of deposition processes such as seeder-feeder, occult (fog) deposition and turbulent dry deposition, and assessing the impact of model resolution on performance. Alongside this, model improvements will be assessed against new and historic measurement data and the impact of improvements on assessments of the UK nitrogen budget will be quantified.

The successful applicants will be expected to work closely with colleagues at the University of Exeter, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the University of Manchester and the UK Environment Agency but also with colleagues in the national and international arena and with colleagues at the Met Office. They will be expected to produce peer-reviewed papers documenting the results.

About you

At Grade F: The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events. Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in maths, physics, computer-science, meteorology, or a related numerate scientific discipline.

At Grade E:The successful applicant will be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically and prepare proposals and applications to external bodies. Applicants will possess, or be nearing completion of, a relevant PhD or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role by clicking on the attachment.

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity employer. We are officially recognised as a Disability Confident employer and an Athena Swan accredited institution. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce.