We are pleased to announce an opening for a Postdoctoral Researcher position in the Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering at Northumbria University starting from January 2022. This position is part of a project funded by the British Academy Knowledge Frontiers 2021 Scheme, entitled Water in Istanbul: Rising to the Challenge? The project brings together archaeologists, historians, civil engineers and socian scientists to investigate the water management infrastructure of Istanbul at two key phases in the city’s life: the transition from Roman to Ottoman rule in the 15^th Century, and the period of population explosion beginning circa 1980.

Your role will be to use GIS mapping and water network modelling to shed light on the water management in the Topkapı/Aya Sofya area of Istanbul in the Roman and early Ottoman periods. You will draw on existing GIS maps and other archaeological and historical data, reconstruct the likely networks of water supply pipes, conduits and cisterns and create an hydraulic model linking them using the industry standard modelling software InfoWorks ICM®. Working with an interdisciplinary team, you will develop, run and interpret the results of various modelling scenarios to shed light on the water network management in this area and time period.

This position at Northumbria University would suit a researcher with a strong background in civil engineering hydraulics and GIS applications, and with an interest in archaeology and history. You will work with Professor Martin Crapper in Northumbria and other team members in the British Institute at Ankara, The University of Edinburgh, and Istanbul Technical University.

The applicant must have, or have nearly completed, a doctoral degree in civil engineering hydraulics or a related discipline and you must have a sound knowledge of GIS. You will need research skills, proficiency in oral and written communication in the English language and good independent working and time-management skills. An interest in ancient water engineering and a working knowledge of Turkish would be an advantage but neither is essential.

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Professor Crapper on Martin.Crapper@northumbria.ac.uk

To apply for this vacancy please click 'Apply Now', and submit a covering letter, CV including research /education statements, and grants and publications list. Please highlight your highest quality research outputs up to a maximum of 4. In addition, candidates are asked to provide copies of the top 2 research outputs (Journal / book chapter /practice-based portfolio). Where possible candidates are asked to combine all of these documents into a single file.

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers.

Please note this vacancy will close on 02/12/2021