Applications are invited for a Research Associate position in the Department of Earth Science & Engineering at Imperial College London to investigate impact processes in the Solar System using state-of-the-art numerical modelling. The two-year project is funded by the UK's Science and Technologies Facilities Council. The successful applicant will become part of two world class research groups: the Applied Modelling and Computation Group (http://amcg.ese.ic.ac.uk) and the Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre (http://www.imperial.ac.uk/earthscienceandengineering/research/IARC).

The aims of the research project are to:

• Further develop a 3D numerical model for simulating collisions and impacts between Solar System bodies (asteroids, comets and planets)
• Use this model to study the role of impacts and collisions in the evolution of the Solar System from early collisions between planetesimals to the last giant impacts of planetary accretion, such as the moon-forming event.

The successful candidate will collaborate closely with a multidisciplinary team at Imperial College London, including academic staff, other Research Associates and PhD students. They will be expected to regularly publish papers in international refereed journals and give presentations at relevant international conferences.

Applicants should have completed, or be close to completing, a PhD (or equivalent) in a numerate and relevant subject area (Mathematics, Physics, Earth/Planetary Science, Computing, Engineering, etc). Knowledge of either or both numerical modelling methods and/or shock physics and impact processes (e.g. cratering, compaction and heating) is desirable.