Teaching assistant focusing on global greenhouse gas emission from fires

The Department of Building and Environmental Technology, division of fire safety engineering wants to hire one teaching assistant.

Description of the workplace

Within the Department of Building and Environmental Technology there are several divisions conducting research and teaching related to society's needs for infrastructure and construction. As part of this activity, consideration of safety aspects and development of methods for dealing with dangers in society is also included, mainly those related to accidents and fires. 
But the work is also characterized by interdisciplinary activities in both research and education. Within the immediate group, fire safety engineering research is conducted and the group consists of around 20 researchers and administrative staff. Most have their workplace in Lund, but some staff have a workplace in another location.
The work environment is characterized by commitment, cooperation, creativity and personal responsibility. It is stimulating work with varied tasks, which is why there are good opportunities for professional development.

Project description

You will participate in a development project focusing on increasing the understanding of calculations of emissions from wildfires. These are typically performed by geoscientists. The goal of the project is to allow fire engineers to understand the basis for these calculations, to be aware of knowledge gaps and/or resolution issues, and to be able to compare these emissions to global emissions from fire and from total anthropogenic emissions. The ultimate aim is to allow engineers to properly consider and embed calculations in decision making processes in the cases of wildfires, WUI fires and urban conflagrations.

The project has two main focuses, “Macro”-down and “Micro”-up

1.     Macro-down

Review the state of the art for calculations of global fire emissions, as used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports or similar reports. Focus on greenhouse gas emissions. Review the different calculation methods (e.g., the Burned Area method and the Fire Radiative Power method), the differentiation between wildfires and other large outdoor fires (agricultural waste burning, deforestation fires, prescribed burns, etc.), the required input data, and the availability of input data. Review variations in global emissions from wildfires and focus on one or two countries (e.g., the US, Canada and Australia). Extend the study to the problem of calculating emissions from WUI fires and urban conflagrations.

2.     Micro-up

Review the state of the art for calculations of fire emissions from a selected number of fire types (e.g., residential, industrial, vehicular). Review the different calculation methods, the assumptions made, the required and availability of data (e.g., we have calorimetry data from IRIS-Fire experiments that could be used for urban conflagrations). Look at fire statistics from one or two countries (e.g., South Africa/Cape Town, Scotland, the US) and compare anthropogenic fire emissions. Extend study towards the WUI and Wildfires

Work duties

As a teaching assistant, your duties may vary, and the duties should provide an insight into the academic world at the faculty where you are studying.
You will join a global group project sponsored by members of the IFSC (International Fire Safety Consortium). You will be undertaking this project alongside two other students, one from the University of Edinburgh (UoE), one from University of Maryland (UMD). 
Your specific tasks within the project group will depend on your background competencies and interests within the project, these tasks will be defined at the initial stages of the project, together with the participating research groups from UoE and UMD. The work duties can also involve some educational activity such as development of teaching material.

Qualification requirements

Only those admitted to first or second-cycle courses and study programmes at the faculty may be employed as teaching assistants. The applicant must not have taken the final degree.

Required qualifications:

• Admitted to the Fire Safety programme at LTH or to the programme on Risk, safety and crisis management with a fire engineering background at LTH or to an education equivalent judged by the employer.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English
• Having some programming skills (e.g. Python or C#).

Additional requirements: 

• Knowledge in emission calculations on a micro or macro scale.

We offer

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get good benefits. Employment as a teaching assistant allows you to combine studies with work and complement your theoretical knowledge with practical work experience within academia.

Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee Work at Lund University. 

Further information

The position is a fixed term position for six months at up to 20 % of full time and starting by agreement. An interview will be held either in Lund or remotely via Zoom. Contact person for the position is Professor Margaret McNamee and the division of fire safety engineering: margaret.mcnamee@lth.lu.se. 
The employment as a Teaching Assistant is regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (SFS 2017:284), 5 chapter 8-12 §§. 
The employment is covered by the Working agreement for teachers.

How to apply

Applications are to be submitted via the University’s recruitment system. The application should include a CV and a personal letter justifying your interest in the position and how it matches your qualifications. We ask you to attach documentation from LADOK certifying your eligibility. The application may also include any other document to which you would like to draw attention (copies of grade transcripts, details of referees, letters of recommendation, etc.).  

Welcome to apply!