Job Opportunities

Our team is growing rapidly and we are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic and motivated Communications Assistant to help promote the activities and events of the Centre while supporting the Programme Coordinator in the strategic direction of its communications.

 The post is an interesting and varied job providing events and communications assistance for the Centre and our high-profile activities. Where we host events/activities and/or our presence at external events is required, we may ask the Communications Assistant to accompany the Director and/or Deputy Director so as to document and promote our presence on social media.

The post is full time, but we welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time (e.g. on a job-share basis) or flexible working arrangements.

Our team is growing rapidly and we are seeking to recruit a PA/Administrative Assistant to help the growing needs of the Centre. The post is an interesting and varied job allowing you to work closely with the Centre Directors, providing PA support, as well as administrative support to the Centre and the Programme Coordinator. This will include multiple diaries and inboxes management, assisting with events organisation, taking minutes and general administrative tasks to ensure the smooth running of the Centre. The post-holder will also have the opportunity to develop many areas of their work and should enjoy the opportunity to work on their own initiative.

The post is available as either a Part-Time (0.8FTE) or Full Time (1FTE) post, depending on the requirements of the post-holder. We also welcome applications for flexible working arrangements.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 December 2025 in the first instance and may be extended subject to the availability of funding.

Supervisor: Professor Gary Hunt

Department: Department of Engineering

Funding: Full (Fees and Stipend Paid)

Commencement Date: October 2025

This PhD project stems from a novel idea as to whether giant underwater curtains could slow ice-sheet melting. 

With ice in polar regions disappearing at record rates it is important to investigate potential options to keep land-based, glacier ice on land whilst greenhouse gas levels are reduced; not just emissions, but atmospheric levels.

A number of glaciers, including the large Thwaites glacier in Antarctica, are at risk of increasing slippage and loss due to warmer water finding its way to the grounding line at the toe of the glacier. The warming of deep saline water currents is increasing the rate of melting of these kinds of glaciers, and thereby increasing the risk of higher rates of irreversible sea level rise.

This project will involve collaboration with the University of Lapland, Aker Solutions (an engineering consulting company based in Norway with a UK office), and a number of other universities looking at the possibility of creating physical barriers to impede the flow of deep saline, warm water encroaching upon the grounding line of glaciers. The concept involves the installation of buoyant flexible curtains tethered to the ocean floor in front of glaciers. 

Although there have been some numerical simulations of the curtain, there is much more analysis and engineering work required before any decision can be made as to the viability of such a concept.

This project will involve building upon the current analysis by undertaking a series of laboratory experiments in a flume and investigating the dynamical behaviour of a suspending flexible curtain. The interplay of multiple curtains, the design configuration, and the potential for instabilities and vibrations in the mechanical design of the structure will be key. The project will also involve development of analytical models of the fluid-curtain interaction, and fundamentally identification of the key design parameters influencing the rate of flow of warm water towards a glacier and ultimately the rate of melting.

It is envisaged that the experimental work will also involve outdoor experiments, firstly in rivers or Fjords which are more accessible than glaciers.

How to Apply

Please note that applications to this studentship MUST be submitted through the University of Cambridge Applicant Portal, when it is open for 2025/6 applications. It is anticipated that the Portal will open in late September 2024.

However, in the meantime, if you have any questions or require any further information, please contact Professor Gary Hunt at the Department of Engineering on gary.hunt@eng.cam.ac.uk 

Supervisor: Professor Jerome Neufeld

Department: Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics

Funding: Full (Fees and Stipend Paid)

Commencement Date: October 2025

With ice in polar regions disappearing at record rates it is important to investigate potential options to keep land-based, glacier ice on land whilst greenhouse gas levels are reduced; not just emissions, but atmospheric levels.

A number of glaciers, including the large Thwaites glacier in Antarctica, are at risk of increasing slippage and loss due to warmer water finding its way to the grounding line at the toe of the glacier. The warming of deep saline water currents is increasing the rate of melting of these kinds of glaciers, and thereby increasing the risk of higher rates of irreversible sea level rise.

This project will involve collaboration with the University of Lapland, Aker Solutions (an engineering consulting company based in Norway with a UK office), and a number of other universities who are looking at the possibility of creating physical barriers to impede the flow of deep saline, warm water encroaching upon the grounding line of glaciers. However, this research project will look at different options for reducing the rate of supply of warm water to the base of glaciers.

This project will explore how the creation of bubble curtains or pumped flow might reduce the rate of melting of glaciers. Bubble curtains are already used to contain the debris created in the construction of wind turbines but have not been used in the context of reducing the rate of supply of warm deep saline water to the grounding line of glaciers. Fluid curtains are also used to disrupt exchange flows in other applications, for example overhead air curtains in the doorways of retail environments in high summer to reduce air-conditioning loads.

The project will first involve laboratory experiments and the development of mathematical models to build a fundamental understanding of the fluid mechanics associated with such potential interventions. It is hoped that the project will then expand to outdoor experiments, liaising with organisations working in marine environments such as harbour management entities, in order to test concepts in the field.

How to Apply

Please note that applications to this studentship MUST be submitted through the University of Cambridge Applicant Portal, when it is open for 2025/6 applications. It is anticipated that the Portal will open in late September 2024.

However, in the meantime, if you have any questions or require any further information, please contact Professor Jerome Neufeld at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) on jn271@cam.ac.uk