NFFDy aim to support a cohort of postdoctoral fellows for up to three years.
A key objective of this scheme is to connect the NFFDy fellows with the UK fluids community as they write their proposals so that the fellows will be supported by the community and will align their research to areas of significant long term interest to the UK. The NFFDy Hub has been funded by EPSRC and set up for this.
Visit the NFFDy Hub.
Other objectives are to provide fellows with resources, mentoring and training to help them pursue their research vision: to encourage the fellows to advocate more broadly for fluid dynamics, and to horizon scan for new research ideas.
This fellowship is a personal award for future leaders with current expertise in engineering, physical, environmental or biological sciences, with an emphasis on fluid dynamics or data science.
It’s designed to provide you with the necessary support to gain skills and expertise to propagate and apply techniques from data-driven fluids to myriad applications globally.
As a fellow, you would be provided with a salary and significant resources to pursue your career and make the leap from postdoctoral to principal investigator level.
About you
You could consider applying for a postdoctoral fellowship if you:
- have recently started formulating your own research ideas for programmes of work up to three years in duration that will deliver high quality research with a focus on fluid dynamics
- can demonstrate that you have acquired the skills and expertise to deliver your research proposal successfully
- have identified training and development needs to enable you to prepare for an enhanced career in research and innovation.
Requirements
Your research can be curiosity-driven or industrially-motivated, or a combination of both.
In your proposal you will need to:
- demonstrate that you have a research idea related to fluid dynamics
- show how you will collaborate with the existing UK fluids community, whether academic or industrial (for example, through the existing special interest groups of the UK Fluids Network or the creation of a new special interest group)
- identify which research communities would benefit from the outcomes.
- show an interest in problems outside of your own area of expertise
- demonstrate that you will be capable of communicating your research to the community outside of your immediate discipline.
You will also be expected to attend the two summer programmes organised by the NFFDy Hub or, if unable to attend, you advise us on other ways you could engage with the cohort of NFFDy fellows.
Your proposed area of research must predominantly fit into EPSRC’s current remit (at least 50%).
Read the full list of EPSRC research areas.
If you are successful in your application, you will be expected to start your fellowship between January and June 2023.
What we will expect of you
As a NFFDy fellow, you will be expected to:
- have an international outlook
- be open-minded about new problems and take an interest in problems outside your own area of expertise
- seek to make the most of being based in the UK, for example by leveraging the UK Fluids Network
- be enthusiastic about taking on a position of technical leadership within an existing or new special interest group within the UK Fluids Network and communicating your research to people outside your immediate discipline
- aim to have a positive impact on UK fluid dynamics and the UK more broadly, for example, by addressing the UK’s societal or industrial challenges.
For project ideas to address UK challenges, you may want to read our fluid nation: the impact of fluid dynamics in the UK.
By the end of your fellowship, you should be an agile, multidisciplinary, independent research leader who has developed deep, broad and flexible expertise in fluid dynamics.
Successful fellows will be expected to use their awards to contribute to:
- promote the development, sharing and exploitation of high-quality, sustainable research in fluid dynamics
- demonstrate leadership in the fluid dynamics research communities and acting as ambassadors and advocates for UK fluid dynamics research
- facilitating knowledge transfer by fostering collaborative relationships with academic and industrial partners both in the UK and internationally.
Connecting with the community
We recommend that you discuss your ideas with others in the fluids community to develop your proposal.
The NFFDy Hub has been funded by EPSRC and set up to facilitate the exchange of ideas between applicants and the UK fluids community. Connect with the NFFDy Hub.
Visit the UK Fluids Network for access to a directory of UK fluid dynamics researchers listed by subject and institution.
Summer programmes
As an NFFDy fellow, you will be part of a cohort and will be encouraged to attend two summer programmes, the first of which will be on ‘data in fluids’ with two weeks of lectures and tutorials followed by four weeks of projects. At these programmes, you will participate in training and work on projects at the intersection of data-driven and physics-based modelling, either with experimental or numerical data or both.
The facilitator of the UK Fluids Network is available to discuss mechanisms to enable attendance by fellows with, for example, caring responsibilities.
Contact the UK Fluids Network facilitator.
Fellowship benefits
Benefits for fellows include:
- support and advice from the UK fluids community as you are writing your proposal
- cohort activities during the fellowship, such as fortnightly informal coffee mornings online, a monthly internal seminar series online, and a mentorship scheme
- a guaranteed place at the UK fluids summer programmes in Cambridge (2023) and Leeds (2024).
What we will fund
You can apply for up to a maximum of three years of funding for a postdoctoral stage award. We will also allow fellowships over shorter periods. You can spend between 50% and 100% of your time on a fellowship.
If you want to work part-time, you can hold your EPSRC fellowship part-time as well, at a minimal level of 50%. In these circumstances, the duration of your fellowship can be extended pro rata.
We will fund 80% of the full economic costs of your project. You may request funding for:
- equipment and other items needed to carry out the project
- costs related to impact
- travel and subsistence.
We will not fund costs for additional researchers on postdoctoral fellowships or individual items of equipment over £10,000 (including VAT).
Read the full equipment guidelines.
Responsible innovation
EPSRC is fully committed to developing and promoting responsible innovation. Research has the ability to not only produce understanding, knowledge and value, but also unintended consequences, questions, ethical dilemmas and, at times, unexpected social transformations.
We recognise that we have a duty of care to promote approaches to responsible innovation that will initiate ongoing reflection about the potential ethical and societal implications of the research that we sponsor and to encourage our research community to do likewise. Therefore, you are expected to work within the EPSRC framework for responsible innovation.
If you plan to include international collaborators in your proposal, you should work to get the most out of international collaboration whilst protecting intellectual property, sensitive research and personal information.
Visit Trusted Research for information and advice about secure international collaboration.
