Improving overheating risk assessment procedures in urban dwellings

Application details:
Reference number: ABCE18/CH
Start date for studentship: 1 January 2019
Closing date for advert: 11 November 2018
Interview date: tbc

Supervisors:
Primary supervisor: Dr Christina Hopfe
Secondary supervisor: Dr Rob McLeod

Project Detail
Applications are invited for a 3.5-year PhD studentship on “Improving overheating risk assessment procedures in urban dwellings” in the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering at Loughborough University. The PhD studentship is to understand the relationships between: urban dwellings and their energy efficiency; the sources of heat gains; overheating risk, indoor temperature and indoor air quality; and the effect on occupant well-being (including morbidity and mortality) in urban environments.

The candidate will assess existing overheating risk assessment methods and their validity by comparing in-situ measurements with predictive modelling and risk assessment procedures. The research aims to understand the limitations of current approaches and to develop proposals for new methods that can enable more robust prediction and assessment of risks. The research is supported by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and will involve collaboration in joint academic/industry research projects.

Find out more:
www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/abce/pg-research/

Entry requirements
Students will normally need to hold, or expect to gain, at least a 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline. A relevant master’s degree and/or relevant employment experience will be an advantage. Previous research experience in energy monitoring, energy modelling, building simulation, and statistical methods or transferable data analytics experience would be desirable.

Loughborough University
In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the School was ranked first for research environment in Architecture, Built Environment and Planning, with 95% of research rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for its influence on society, the economy and policy. The School boasts world class facilities, with £1.4m recently invested in the 3,000m2 laboratory facilities and a £1.24m High Performance Computing facility – one of the UK’s fastest clusters.

A key part of the School’s ethos is the extensive links with industry. Many research projects are sponsored and applied by organisations in the civil engineering, construction and transport sectors, and Loughborough graduates are extremely sought after by industry and commerce world-wide.

Funding information
The studentship is for 3.5 years (42 months) and is intended to start in January 2019. The studentship provides a tax-free stipend of £14,777 (rising annually in line with Research Council recommendations) for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK/EU rate. The student will also benefit from a Research Training and Support Grant of £1,750.

Due to funding restrictions, this studentship is only open to UK/EU applicants.

Contact details:
For information about the research project, please contact:

Name: Dr Christina Hopfe
Email address: C.J. [Email Address Removed]
Telephone number: (01509) 226 917

For information about the application process, please contact:

Name: Mr Berkeley Young
Email address: [Email Address Removed]
Telephone number: (01509) 222 611

How to apply
All applications should be made online at www.lboro.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/research-applications/. Under programme name, please select Civil and Building Engineering (Built Environment).

Please quote reference number ABCE18/CH.