Appointment of a Research Officer in Image Analysis

Appointment of a Research Officer in Image Analysis

The school The university is committed to transforming the lives and experiences of people and their environments through research that drives positive change and economic and social benefits. Based in the College of Life, Health and Physical Sciences, The School of Environment and Technology is focussed on producing applied, multi-disciplinary research that informs policy, practice and benefits the student experience.

Based in the Cockcroft Building on the Moulsecoomb site, there are 49.25 academic, 6.1 research, 7.9 technical and 12.2 administrative staff within the school covering a wide range of activities within the two divisions of Geography & Geology and the Built Environment & Civil Engineering.

Members of staff are active in their professional fields, acting as external examiners, validation panel members and HEFCE assessors.

Research

The School specialises in multi/interdisciplinary applied research which is organised around 7 research groups:-

·  Applied geosciences

·  Built environment

·  Ecosystems and environmental management

·  Environment and public health

·  Past human and environment dynamics

·  Society, space and environment

·  Sustainability and resilience engineering

Staff within these groups also contribute to two cross-School research centres:-

·  The Aquatic Research Centre, an interdisciplinary centre focusing on resolving key issues associated with marine and freshwater systems in both the natural and built environment

·  The Centre for Research in Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics, an interdisciplinary centre with a mission to rethink knowledge and practice at the intersection of space, environment and culture

In the 2014 REF 40% of the staff from the School were submitted via 4 Units of Assessment ( B7 – Earth Systems & Environmental Sciences -12.25 fte, C22 – Social Work and Social Policy – 2.0 fte; C26 – Sport & Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism – 2.0 fte, D34 – Art & Design: History, practice and theory – 3.0 fte) and the following quality profile was generated:-

4* = 11.2% 3* = 50.9% 2* = 34.0% 1* = 3.6% U/C = 0.3%

The School attracts around £1 million of external funding each year from UK Research Councils (EPSRC, NERC, AHRC), the European Union, local and national government (DEFRA, Environment Agency, SDNPA) and industry. In many cases staff within the School are leading large multi-partner European projects and they play a key role in the peer review process (e.g.RCUK Review College) and in academic societies hosting national and international conferences.

The school provides an excellent environment to support the development of early career researchers with pump priming funds being made available to develop research activities. The School also supports in excess of 60 postgraduate research students.

Courses

The school offers a wide range of research led courses to over 1200 students at Masters and Undergraduate Degree level which cover the subject areas of architectural technology, building surveying, construction management, civil engineering, environmental sciences, geography, geology and environmental management.

The undergraduate programmes are modular in structure and split into two semesters of 15 weeks’ duration. All of the courses make use of fieldwork and industrial placements and these are integrated into the teaching programme. Many of the courses are accredited by professional bodies (ICE, RICS, IEMA, Geol Soc) and have key transferable skills integrated into the programme. As a consequence the graduating students have an excellent record in securing appropriate employment.

Staff within the school also have close links with industry, the local community and the relevant professions, with highly qualified staff offering consultancy, short courses and CPD opportunities to the South East region.

Consultancy Opportunities

Staff may also work on consultancy activities, which may be undertaken in consultation with their Head of School.

Facilities

The school is strongly supported by the university and as a consequence has seen significant investment (£8.3 million) in new laboratories and capital equipment over the last five years. Key facilities include:

·  Geochemical suite (XRD, XRF, XPS, AAS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS)

·  Geology Laboratory

·  Environmental Sciences Laboratory

·  Public Health Laboratory

·  Research Laboratory

·  Hydraulics laboratory with 6 flumes

·  Experimental River basin

·  Heavy Structures Laboratory

·  Geotechnicial laboratory including a centrifuge

·  Concrete laboratory

·  Drawing Studio

·  Computer Laboratories including Autocad and GIS

·  Surveying Equipment (Total Stations, dGPS)

·  Field based monitoring equipment including a 4 wheel drive vehicle and coring equipment

·  Instrumented monitoring sites for hydrogeology, wetlands and estuarine environments.

The refurbishment of the Cockcroft Building (£29 million) has provided new offices, laboratories and social learning spaces as well as providing a building with a low carbon footprint.

Support Staff

The academic activities are supported by a range of administrative and technical staff. The laboratories and computer systems are supported by highly qualified technical instructors who support teaching and research activities. Similarly the teaching and research administrative activities are supported by the School Office together with two Student Support Tutors. In addition the school can call upon support from the Centre for Collaboration and Partnership which focuses on working with industry (KTPs) and student placements.

The Built Environment and Civil Engineering Division

The mission of the Built Environment and Civil Engineering Division is to be a centre of excellence for teaching and research in construction with particular emphasis on the interaction between the society and the natural environment. The division also has a strong professional focus which guides and informs both teaching and research activities.

The Division consists of 24.4academic staff who are supported by 4 dedicated technical staff and it is also able to draw upon the wider technical support available in the School and the School Administrative team.

Courses

The University of Brighton has a long history of providing professional, higher education courses directly related to the construction industry. The courses achieved high scores in the HEFCE Teaching Quality Assessment and are accredited by a variety of professional bodies including the RICS, ICE, IStructE, APM and the CIOB. The courses have also attracted excellent National Student Survey, with overall student satisfaction placing of 85.4%, the third highest within Built Environment courses. The Division supports around 530 students, on the following courses:

·  MSc Civil Engineering

·  MSc Construction Management

·  MSc Project Management for Construction

·  BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology

·  BSc (Hons) Building Surveying

·  MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering

·  MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil with Environmental Engineering

·  MEng/BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering with Construction Management

·  BSc (Hons) Construction Management

·  BSc (Hons) Project Management for Construction

Members of staff are active in their professional groups including Chartered Institute of Building, Institution of Civil Engineers, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers and Royal Town Planning Institute. They also undertake external examining; validation panel membership and HEFCE assessment. Staff in this division, play an active role in local community activities and organisations.

The Civil Engineering courses have been developed around a common first year which greater depth in the core disciplines being developed at Level 5. Option modules are introduced at Level 6 and for those students who undertake the flagship MEng course there is further emphasis upon leadership and construction management skills. The Civil Engineering courses are distinctive in terms of their inclusion of construction management and environmental material (e.g. Water quality, engineering geology) which is strongly supported by staff from other areas of the School.

The built environment undergraduate courses share a common first year and this allows the students to get a better understanding of the subject material before they start to specialise at honours level. This approach has allowed us to move to a position where we have an array of semi-independent, inter-linked modules from which it is possible to offer new options and ensure that the students develop key skills appropriate to their degree but can still select from a broad range of options. A particular focus for these courses is an emphasis upon Sustainable Development in Construction and the broader issues associated with development and regeneration.

Graduate employment is very high and the courses now attract considerable involvement from regional and national employers as evidenced via our Industrial Liaison Panel.

Postgraduate teaching is offered via the MSc programmes in both the built environment and civil engineering areas. Recruitment is primarily full-time though a few part-time students enrich the courses through current knowledge and experience. The MSc’s are custom designed courses where students bring both skills and experiences from their previous professional and other activities and integrate them with the academic content provided by the study programmes.

Job Sharing The University of Brighton welcomes job sharers. Job sharing is a way of working where two people share one full-time job, dividing the work, responsibilities, pay, holidays and other benefits between them proportionate to the hours each works, thereby increasing access to a wide range of jobs on a part-time basis.

Potential job sharers do not have to apply with a partner. However, if a post is to be operated as a job share there must be at least two suitable applicants who wish to share the job.

A job share appointment will only be made if it has been demonstrated that both shortlisted applicants can do the job to the required standards and within a working pattern of hours that is agreeable to all parties. If one applicant is unsuitable, neither can be appointed unless an alternative potential job sharer has been shortlisted.

When applying as a job sharer please indicate this on your application form. Please also indicate on the additional information tab whether you are applying with a job share partner and the name of that person. It would also be useful if you could indicate whether you would be interested in the post on a full-time basis if no suitable partner can be found. If you have indicated that you would be willing to take up the position on a full-time basis then the normal recruitment procedure will be followed.

If you are interested in appointment on a job share basis, please contact Human Resources for a copy of the university's policy, procedure and guidelines for job sharing. Alternatively staff in Human Resources will be happy to answer any queries you may have.

The Job At Research Officer level (AC1), staff are expected to be using a range of basic research methods to support research projects across a school or subject area including assisting with dissemination of results.

Research Officers are expected to:

·  Support the research of others by undertaking basic research for example by contributing to the planning; preparing, setting up, conducting and recording the outcome of experiments and field work; developing questionnaires and conducting surveys; conducting literature and database searches; co-ordinating information, assessing its value and making recommendations; and administration of smaller project budgets including advice on cost-effective expenditure;

·  Undertake experiments using standard techniques and methods and develop the ability to design experiments and methods appropriate to the research project;

·  Plan own day-to-day research activity within the framework of the agreed programme, co-ordinating with the work of others;

·  Liaise with research colleagues, project partners and support staff on routine matters and to gather or exchange information;

·  Deal with problems which may affect research objectives and contribute to decisions affecting the work of the team;

·  Analyse and interpret results of own research and generate original ideas based on outcomes;

·  May assist on collaborative projects by tracking progress in each institution against grant requirements;

·  Write up results of own research and contribute to the production of research reports and publications;

·  Assist with dissemination of research output, for example by assisting with the design and development of a website, exhibition or broadcast media programme;

·  Prepare and present information/papers on research progress and outcomes to bodies supervising research, e.g. steering groups or the funding body;

·  Attend and contribute to meetings including production of minutes;

·  Continue to update own subject knowledge and develop research skills;

·  Assist in the supervision of student projects and provide guidance to support staff and any research students who may be assisting with the research;

·  May contribute to introductory courses including preparing and delivering lectures and marking with guidance or developing others' expertise in the use of research methods and equipment;

·  Develop own knowledge of teaching and learning methods;

·  Make internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding and form relationships for future collaboration.

Specific duties:

1.  Collate all the hard copy, diapositives and previously drum-scanned imagery of the South Saskatchewan River (20 km long, from 2000-2015)

2.  Collation may necessitate travel to Birmingham University for a 2 day period

3.  Scan all imagery at an agreed resolution

4.  Stitch together all imagery using software provided by the PI

5.  Georectify the imagery and produce Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) for each set of photos including dry and wet areas of the floodplain

6.  Produce a digital archive of all stitched imagery, XYZ data and make available to all team members via the Cloud

Essential:

• Qualification:

-  A degree in Physical Geography or cognate disciplines

-  A PhD or to be near completion of a PhD

• Knowledge/expertise:

-  Proven expertise in data collection and manipulation

-  An understanding of GIS, image manipulation and data archiving

-  An understanding of producing and using DEMs and assessing their internal errors

-  Analytical skills to quantify river channel change over different time periods

-  Advanced experience with image processing software

• Communication: understands the information needs of others; is able to communicate information in an understandable way orally and in writing, as suitable to the situation.

• Sensitivity: listens well and understands the needs of others.

• Self motivation: meets objectives and standards on own initiative; is committed to continuous self-development.

• Teamwork: flexible; cooperative; helpful; respects ideas and expertise of others; appreciates own strengths and weaknesses.