Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Applications are invited for a PhD studentship funded by the EPSRC in the following research area: climate change scenarios, comfort and the UK built environment.
Project to start: October 2008
Project introduction:
Climate change is now an accepted reality and carbon emission reduction is firmly placed as one of the most important items on our policy agenda. UK buildings area key target for long term carbon emission reduction as they consume nearly 50% of all energy. This project is p ar t of a large consortium of
universities (Manchester, Sheffield, Bath, Northumbria and Napier) developing next generation tools and techniques to enable stakeholders in the building industry to mitigate and adapt to the worst effects of climate change. A central aspect of this work will be developing building relevant climate change data from new data to be released by the UK Climate Impact s Programme (UKCIP08) which is led by the University of Manchester. PhD positions are available at all partner universities with individual programmes of work.
The main objectives of the research to be conducted at Bath are:
1) To develop a comprehensive picture of the national implications of the three UKCIP08 scena rios on the UK built environment. This will involve extension of an existing Java - based model of the UK housing stock to include non - domestic buildings. This will provide policy makers with a tool to investigate the impact of
regulatory changes and improved design on future carbon emissions.
2) Develop UKCIP08 built environment s tory lines and impacts to inform designers and clients about the implications of a selected scenario and its data.
3) Develop case studies to examine the implications of new climate data sets on human thermal comfort and potential emissions.
This study will be instrumental in establishing the key opportunities and vulnerabilities in the UK built environment in relation to climate change whilst ensuring that emission targets are met without compromising thermal comfort.
The studentship:
This EPSRC Studentship covers home/EU tuition fees and a stipend of £12,940 (tax free) per annum. Overseas students are eligible to apply, but will be expected to pay the difference between home /EU and overseas fees (currently around £8,000 p.a.) and have an English Language Qualification, IELTS of not less than 7 or its equivalent.
The successful candidate will join the Engineering and Design of Environments (EDE) Research Unit
(http://www.bath.ac.uk/ace/ede/) in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
(http://www.bath.ac.uk/ace/ ) at the University of Bath and collaborate with other researchers and students within the consortium. The University of Bath's Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering was
awarded a grade 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise and is located within the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath.
Applications:
Candidates should hold a first or upper second class honours degree in Architecture, Building Services, Civil Engineering or a related subject and have a keen interest in simulation and modelling.
Interested applicants should send their CVs and covering letters to Dr Sukumar Natarajan, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Campus, Bath BA2 7AY or email: s.natarajan@bath.ac.uk
The deadline for applications is the 30th of May 2008.
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