The Edinburgh Fire Research Centre at The University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland is recruiting for a fully-funded (fees & stipend) PhD studentship to work under the direction of Dr Zakary Campbell-Lochrie. The position is expected to start in mid-2024 with flexibility for suitable candidates, and applicants are encouraged to apply early as applications will be reviewed on a regular basis.
The Edinburgh Fire Research Centre (https://www.fire.eng.ed.ac.uk/) consists of more than 20 researchers working on a variety of fundamental fire science/engineering and combustion research projects in the context of both the natural and built environment. The academic staff have a range of expertise across both theoretical and experimental fire science & engineering with experimental work regularly conducted in the Rushbrook Fire Engineering Laboratory and in large-scale field experiments.
Research Focus
Climate change effects and variations in land management practices (e.g. reforesting, peatland restoration, prescribed burning) will influence the composition and structure of many future natural landscapes. Understanding the subsequent impact on the risk and severity of wildfires will require a detailed understanding of the effects of vegetation structure on fire behavior which challenges many existing wildland fire science theories and modelling tools. For example, issues with the prediction of fuel structure effects in current operational models have been identified and for more complex, detailed physics-based models (i.e. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)) fuel structural features often occur at the sub-grid scale and must therefore be described in bulk-terms by representative sub-models.
The first part of this project will involve laboratory-scale experiments to investigate the fine-scale effects of vegetation structure at the sub-fuel bed level (e.g. properties of individual pine needles in a litter layer). This is of particular importance given recently observed issues with existing operational wildfire models (e.g. Rothermel model) and given the ongoing development of burning rate descriptors for next-generation operational models.
The second part of the project will assess the ability of terrestrial LiDAR scanners to accurately and repeatably characterize variations in vegetation structure at larger scales (e.g. individual trees/shrubs to field plots). This will include a particular focus on quantifying the temporal variation of vegetation as a result of climate stresses or landscape management decisions and linking these structural variations to existing structural parameters commonly used in fire modelling.
Qualifications
Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree. This project would potentially suit candidates from a wide range of backgrounds e.g. those with and undergraduate degree in Engineering, Physics, Environmental Sciences or similar. Experience in a laboratory or experimental environment would be an advantage. We are particularly interested to hear from applicants with experience in fire science/engineering and/or wildfires but this is not essential.
Timeline
The position will ideally begin by mid-2024 or Fall 2024 but a later start date may be possible for the right candidate.
Funding
Tuition fees + stipend are available for Home/EU and International students.
How to Apply
Applications should be submitted through the University of Edinburgh application system through the official advert: https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/research/phd/quantifying-influence-vegetation-structure-wildfire-behaviour
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis therefore early applications are advised. Please feel free to contact Dr Zakary Campbell-Lochrie Z.Campbell.Lochrie@ed.ac.uk) with any further questions about this role.
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. Is e buidheann carthannais a th’ ann an Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, clàraichte an Alba, àireamh clàraidh SC005336.
