The University of Exeter is a Russell Group University in the top one percent of institutions globally. In the last few years we have invested strategically to deliver more than £350 million worth of new facilities across our campuses with plans for another £330 million of investment between now and 2016.

The College wishes to recruit an Associate Research Fellow to support the work of Dr Claire M. Belcher. This European Research Council funded post is available immediately and must be taken up by August 2016 and will run for 2 years from the start date. The successful applicant will undertake research directed at understanding how plant chemistry influences the flammability of plants. Plant traits such a leaf morphology and fuel structure are well known to impact the flammability of ecosystems but relatively little is known about how the chemistry of leaves interacts to determine their intrinsic flammability. Working together with other members of the EU funded wildFIRE Lab (https://sites.google.com/site/palaeofirelab/home) you will couple analyses that explore the chemistry of the fuels; such as leaf wax, resin, fatty acid contents and volatile components to flammability data produced using the laboratories state-of-the-art fire testing equipment to build a picture of plant traits act together to influence the flammability of ecosystems.

The post will require you to be capable of designing the necessary protocols for and undertaking the chemical analysis and as such will require considerable experience in this area and the ability to direct your own research. You will work closely with other wildFIRE Lab members to explore how these might influence flammability and must be capable of communicating complex data to a multidisciplinary team. As such, 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 a PhD in organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, phytochemistry or plant biochemistry or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of the research methods and techniques (e.g. chromatography, mass spectrometry and other chemical analysis techniques as applied to plants) required to work within the established research programme.

For further information, please contact Claire M. Belcher, email c.belcher@ex.ac.uk, or telephone (01392) 726474.

The department is proud to have a Bronze Athena SWAN award in recognition of their commitment to providing equality of opportunity and advancing the representation of women in STEM/M subjects. All of the University of Exeter’s STEM/M departments hold an Athena SWAN award.

The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity employer which is ‘Positive about Disabled People’. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce.

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