Hayley Fowler

[100% fees covered and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £20,780 (2025/26 UKRI rate). Additional project costs provided. Full studentship for home and international applicants.] Project Overview: Climate change is intensifying extreme rainfall events, posing significant challenges for flood risk management in the UK. Existing rainfall datasets are either too sparse or inaccurate, making it difficult to predict floods and plan for climate adaptation. This fully funded PhD studentship at Newcastle University aims to address this gap by developing a high-resolution, sub-hourly blended UK precipitation dataset. The project will integrate data from multiple sources, including tipping bucket rain gauges, weather radar, and satellites, using advanced coding and data science techniques. Research Focus: The student will design and implement a comprehensive quality control framework to identify and correct errors, apply bias adjustments, and assess data quality. State-of-the-art multisource blending methods such as kriging, probabilistic merging, and machine learning will be used to combine datasets and preserve rainfall extremes. The project will explicitly quantify uncertainty, with outputs tailored for both researchers and practitioners. The resulting open-access dataset will directly support advanced flood risk modelling, hydrological predictions, and climate adaptation planning. Training and Collaboration: The successful candidate will join Newcastle University’s Water and Climate Research Group, collaborating with partners such as the UK Environment Agency and the Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure (FDRI). The studentship offers the opportunity to develop expertise in climate extremes, data science, and hydrology, with direct pathways to impact in policy, industry, and society. Funding: The award covers 100% of tuition fees and provides a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £20,780 (2025/26 UKRI rate). Additional project costs are also covered. Both home and international applicants (including EU) are eligible for the full studentship. Eligibility: Applicants must have, or expect to obtain, at least a 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a relevant subject (e.g., computing, mathematics, engineering). Essential skills include enthusiasm for research, independent working, analytical ability, and strong communication skills. Non-native English speakers require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall (minimum 5.5 in all sub-skills). International applicants may need an ATAS certificate for visa purposes. Application Process: Applications should be submitted via the Newcastle University funding page. A prospective applicant webinar will be held at 2:00pm on 26th November (see event link for details). For further information, contact Prof Hayley Fowler at [email protected]. Key Dates: Application deadline is 8th January 2026. The studentship will commence on 1st October 2026 and will last for 3.5 years.

This fully funded PhD studentship at Newcastle University, sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), addresses the urgent need for reliable, high-resolution rainfall data to improve flood prediction and climate adaptation in the UK. Climate change is causing more frequent and intense rainfall events, challenging current flood risk management strategies. Existing rainfall datasets are limited: radar estimates can be inaccurate, and rain gauge networks are too sparse to capture localised storms. The project aims to develop a new blended UK precipitation dataset with high temporal (15-minute) and spatial resolution by integrating data from tipping bucket rain gauges, weather radar, and satellites. The student will employ robust coding and data science techniques to build a comprehensive quality control framework, identify and correct errors, apply bias adjustments, and assess data quality. Advanced multisource blending methods, such as kriging, probabilistic merging, and machine learning, will be used to combine datasets and preserve extremes. Uncertainty will be explicitly quantified, and the resulting open-access dataset will support advanced flood risk modelling, hydrological predictions, and adaptation planning. The student will join Newcastle University's Water and Climate Research Group and collaborate with partners like the UK Environment Agency and the Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure (FDRI). The project offers direct pathways to impact in policy, industry, and society, and provides training in climate extremes, data science, and hydrology. Applicants must hold or expect to obtain at least a 2:1 Honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject, such as computing, mathematics, or engineering. Strong analytical, communication, and independent research skills are essential. International applicants are welcome and must meet English language requirements (IELTS 6.5 overall, minimum 5.5 in all sub-skills) and may require ATAS clearance. The studentship covers 100% tuition fees, a minimum annual living allowance of £20,780 (2025/26 UKRI rate), and additional project costs. The application deadline is January 8, 2026. To apply, candidates must use the Newcastle University portal, select the appropriate programme, and provide a personal statement, CV, academic transcripts, degree certificates, language certificate (if applicable), and two academic referees.

A fully-funded PhD position is available at Newcastle University, focusing on the design and evaluation of multi-functional Blue Green Infrastructure (BGI) under climate change. BGI is a solution to mitigate surface water flooding and offers benefits for biodiversity, health, and water quality. The project aims to develop an interactive framework using optimisation tools to explore decision spaces in BGI design, considering policy levers, management strategies, climate change projections, rainfall events, and broader design constraints. The research will also address multiple benefits such as ecological connectivity and urban heat mitigation. The PhD is part of the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water, funded by the Fernhill Foundation through Community Foundation Ireland. Supervisors include Professors Claire Walsh and Hayley Fowler (Newcastle University) and Professor Jennifer McKinley (Queens University Belfast). The studentship provides a £24,000 annual living allowance, research grant, and covers tuition fees. Eligibility is restricted to UK and Irish nationals. The application deadline is 20 September 2025, with a start date in January 2026. Interested candidates should visit the provided link for further details and application instructions.