Research Associate in Numerical Modelling of Conduit Flow at the University of Manchester

[Jessica Johnson (ENV - Staff)]

A Postdoctoral Research Associate appointment in numerical modelling of volcanic conduit flow is available from November 2025 for 42 months in the framework of the newly funded NERC Large Grant project ‘Expecting the Unexpected: Understanding “Dangerous” Volcanic Transitions (Ex‑X)’.

The PDRA will be based in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, working under the joint supervision of Prof Mike Burton and Dr Chris Johnson at Manchester and Dr Giuseppe La Spina (INGV Catania, Italy) The PDRA will collaborate with the wider Ex-X project team, led by Prof Jenni Barclay, on coupled conduit-plume modelling with Prof Jeremy Philipps and Dr Mark Woodhouse (University of Bristol), integration with geophysics with Dr Jessica Johnson and Dr Richard Herd (University of East Anglia), integration with petrology with Prof Pyle on petrology (University of Oxford) and ground-truthing with volcanological deposits with Prof Paul Cole (University of Plymouth). Ex-X will work closely with Volcano Observatory partners in the Caribbean.

The purpose of the role is to develop, implement, test and validate time‑dependent conduit flow models to investigate the physical drivers of rapid eruptive transitions under varying pressure, temperature, volatile and crystallisation conditions. These models will be coupled with time-dependent magma reservoir and eruption column models, producing results which can be directly compared with field data from explosive eruptions in the Caribbean

Salary: £37,694 - £46,049 per annum

Closing date (DD/MM/YYYY): 09/01/2026

More information and to apply: https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetail?JobId=33489

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews: 

Prof Mike Burton – mike....@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Chris Johnson – chris....@manchester.ac.uk