Join Us

Current openings

No funded positions are open at present. Vacancies are posted here and on the QMUL jobs portal as they arise.

Recruitment for doctoral candidates on ASCEND, our Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network, is expected to open in due course.

Working in the group

We are a computational group with an experimental edge, working on problems where combustion physics and machine learning genuinely need each other. Members develop strong skills in reacting-flow CFD, chemical kinetics, and modern machine-learning frameworks, and publish in venues such as Combustion and Flame, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, Fuel, and Applied Thermal Engineering.

You would be joining a group with active collaborations at ETH Zürich, Kyushu University and Cardiff University, and with partners across the UK automotive and aerospace sectors. Our alumni have moved on to academic posts, industrial R&D roles, and postdoctoral positions in the UK and abroad.

PhD students

I supervise PhD students through Queen Mary’s School of Engineering and Materials Science. Funded projects are advertised above and on FindAPhD.

I am also glad to support strong candidates applying to competitive schemes, including QMUL Principal’s Postgraduate Research Studentships, the China Scholarship Council, and national scholarship programmes. A competitive application takes time to develop, so please make contact at least three months before the relevant deadline.

Background. Most successful applicants hold a degree in mechanical, aerospace, chemical or energy engineering, or in applied mathematics or computational science, with programming experience in Python or a compiled language. Prior exposure to CFD or machine learning is welcome but not essential — the ability to learn both is what matters.

Postdoctoral researchers

Funded PDRA positions are advertised above and on the QMUL jobs portal.

I also welcome approaches from researchers seeking to develop a fellowship application with the group. Relevant schemes include:

  • Royal Society Newton International Fellowship
  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
  • Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship

Fellowship applications are substantial undertakings. Please get in touch well ahead of the deadline so there is time to shape the proposal properly.

Visiting researchers

We host visiting PhD students and academics for periods of three to twelve months. Visitors are expected to arrive with their own funding, and to have a clear research question that connects to one of our themes.

How to get in touch

Email me at a.paykani@qmul.ac.uk, including:

  1. A short statement of your research interests
  2. Your CV
  3. Which of our research themes you would like to work in, and why

The third point is the one that matters. Enquiries that could have been sent to any group are unlikely to receive a reply.