Early Career Researchers Development Fund (ECRDF)
Update March 2018:
The GERC Early Career Researchers Development Fund is closed until further notice.
In order to further the careers of early career researchers within the GeoEnergy Research Centre, we have established a fund to facilitate their development over and above what is encompassed within their day-to-day work programmes. This is a five year funding programme with a call for applications once every quarter year.
Funding Themes and Amounts Available
The scope of funding available is very wide, and we will consider all
well-justified applications that fall within one (or more) of the 12
GERC combined capability areas. Cost sharing through jointly-funded
opportunities is encouraged
- Fees for specialised training courses – Maximum of £2,000 available
- Accessing specialised facilities not available locally – Maximum of £1,000 available
- Secondments to new or existing industrial partners – Maximum of £2,500 available
- Presentations or posters at major conferences – Maximum of £600 available
- Collaboration with world-leading research groups – Maximum of £2,500 available
Who is eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for the fund, the applicant must be a researcher within the GERC. This applies across the British Geological Survey, but for the University of Nottingham this includes only: the Faculty of Engineering, and the Schools of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, and Mathematical Sciences, and other GERC affiliated researchers. They must also be at Research Band 5 or below (university grading scheme), or at ‘Band 5 or below (NERC grading scheme). They must also fulfil at least one of the following: be within 10 years (FTE) of being awarded their first degree or be within 7 years (FTE) of completing their PhD. Allowance will be made for those working part-time, or having been on maternity leave or a career break.
To apply for the ECRDF please download and complete the ECRDF application form
Fully completed application forms must be submitted electronically
See who we have funded so far and read their blogs detailing their experiences
My presentation was successful in attracting a great deal of attention and I have received several excellent suggestions and recommendations for further studies in this area - Dr Mojtaba Moradi
Attendance at the conference was a complete eye opener to me on the large-scale high-quality geoscience research across Europe - Chris Gent
I believe the conference was a success for both BGS and myself as we presented some important results on an international stage directly to stakeholders and I learnt a lot through doing this - Andrew Wiseall
In 2018 we awarded funding to one applicant (before closure of the fund)
Collaboration with world-leading research groups:
- Sarah Collins, Groundwater Modeller at the British Geological Survey, to collaborate with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hannover, with the aim of creating the HydroSkripts library. The library is a collection of analytical and numerical solutions for problems in groundwater flow and transport processes. The library will be presented in a website. Read Sarah's blog on the GERC Diary.
Our aim is to finish coding the identified solutions, so that researchers and students all over the world can use HydroSkripts and add to it - Sarah Collins
In 2017 we awarded funding to six applicants through the ECRDF
Presentations or posters at major conferences:
- Chris Gent, Geologist at the British Geological Survey, to present at the European Geosciences Union annual general assembly in Vienna, April 2017. The research Chris presented centred on a potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) site in the Central North Sea, with his poster titled ‘CO2 Storage Potential of the Eocene Tay Sandstone, Central North Sea’. Read Chris’ blog on the GERC Diary.
- Dr Bagus Muljadi, Assistant Professor in Chemical and Environmental Engineering at GERC, to present at the 9th International Conference on Porous Media & Annual Meeting (INTERPORE) in the Netherlands, May 2017. Bagus presented on an unusual subject that stemmed from simple curiosity: how do termites regulate temperature, humidity, and gas exchange in their mounds? Read Bagus’ blog on the GERC Diary.
- Andrew Wiseall, Experimental Fluid Processes Scientist at the British Geological Survey, to present at the 7th International Conference on Clays in Natural and Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement in Switzerland, September 2017. Andrew presented a poster titled ‘Three-dimensional swelling properties of clay-rich rocks and engineered barriers.’ Read Andrew’s blog on the GERC Diary.
- Dr Mojtaba Moradi, Research Fellow in Reservoir Flow Modelling at GERC, to present at the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) in Paris, June 2017. Mojtaba presented his paper on evaluating the impacts of inclusion of porous media properties on the performance of gas condensate reservoirs, a complex two phase flow system. Read Mojtaba’s blog on the GERC Diary.
- Dr Katherine Daniels, Experimental Fluid Processes Scientist at the British Geological Survey, to present at the 7th International Conference on Clays in Natural and Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement in Switzerland, September 2017. Katherine presented on the effect of elevated temperature on the hydraulic and gas permeability of bentonite. Read Katherine’s blog on the GERC Diary.
Collaboration with world-leading research groups:
- Dr Alessandro Novelino, Remote Sensing Geoscientist at the British Geological Survey, to collaborate with Dr E. Chaussard, an Assistant Professor at the University of Buffalo, who’s background is in geodesy and geophysics in February 2018. They will be trying to refine the seismic hazard in the Fairview region (north-central Oklahoma, USA), where a soar in seismicity since 2009 has been linked to extensive wastewater injection into subsurface sedimentary rocks. Read Alessandro’s blog on the GERC Diary.
I received valuable feedback on my work, and discussions with the people that I met have furnished me with additional ideas for the next steps in my research. - Dr Katherine Daniels
It was a very productive conference, where I was able to present some work I did with a very good Masters student at the University of Nottingham - Dr Donald Brown
It is my hope that the relationships I have built over these last few months will continue through my future academic and professional careers - Dr Karl McAlinden
In 2016 we awarded funding to five applicants through the ECRDF
Presentations or posters at major conferences:
- Dr Alicja Lacinska, Mineralogist at the British Geological Survey, to present at the European Mineralogical Conference in Italy, September 2016. Alicja presented on ‘Acid-dissolution of antigorite, chrysotile and lizardite for ex situ carbon capture and storage by mineralisation (CCSM)’. Read Alicja's blog on the GERC Diary.
- Dr Donald Brown, Assistant Professor in Applied Mathematics at GERC, to present at the 6th Biot Conference on Poromechanics in Paris, July 2017. This conference is held once every four years and brings together world leaders on topics of porous solid mechanics that contain one or more fluids. Donald presented on new model reduction and multiscale finite element applications to geomechanics. Read Donald's blog on the GERC Diary.
- Dr Katherine Daniels, Experimental Fluid Processes Scientist at the British Geological Survey, to present at the International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference in North Carolina, April 2017. This conference is held once every two years and is attended by the majority of the world’s radioactive waste management research groups. Katherine presented on measuring the permeability of rock samples from the Bruce Nuclear Site. Read Katherine's blog on the GERC Diary.
Collaboration with world-leading research groups:
- Dr Chunyu Jin, Research Fellow in Fluid Dynamics with GERC, to collaborate with Dr Cheng Chen in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering, Virginia Tech in February 2017. Chunyu was financially supported for a one week visit to Virginia Tech to perform numerical and experimental investigation of flow through ultra-low permeability shales with the aim to write a high-quality collaborative paper with Dr Chen
Secondments to new or existing industrial partners:
- Karl McAlinden, GERC affiliated PhD student, was supported on his two short secondment opportunities with the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D (IEAGHG) programme and IEA Clean Coal Centre (IEACCC) in November 2016. Read Karl's blog on the GERC Diary.