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PDRA Position in Volcanic Conduit Flow Modelling – University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in numerical modelling of volcanic conduit flow.

The post is part of the ‘Expecting the Unexpected: Understanding “Dangerous” Volcanic Transitions (Ex‑X)’ project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

The PDRA will be based in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Manchester. They will work 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. They will work with Prof Jeremy Philipps and Dr Mark Woodhouse (University of Bristol) on coupled conduit-plume modelling, with Dr Jessica Johnson and Dr Richard Herd (University of East Anglia) on integration with geophysics, with Prof Pyle (University of Oxford) on integration with petrology and Prof Paul Cole (University of Plymouth) on ground-truthing with volcanological deposits. 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. The PDRA will couple these models with time-dependent magma-reservoir and eruption-column models and compare the results with field data from explosive eruptions in the Caribbean.

Salary: £37,694 – £46,049 per annum

Closing date: 09/01/2026

Post duration: 42 months

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 – [email protected]
Dr Chris Johnson – [email protected]