Internship Job Posting Form

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www.goabroad.ualberta.ca/qes

Internship Job Posting Form

Section A: Host University

University Name University of Leeds

City Leeds Country UK Primary Contact Name International Office (First and Last)

Joanie Carlyle

Primary E-mail [email protected]

Position Title / Office Work Placement Project Officer, University of Leeds

Section B: Internship Information

Internship Title Urban ecology

Department/Faculty School of Earth and Environment

City Leeds

Supervising Professor Martin Dallimer

Supervisor’s Email [email protected]

Length of internship (must be a minimum of 12 weeks)

3 months

Start date 1st June

End date 31st August

Hours (per week) 35

Project Description

As cities continue to expand, urban ecosystems increasingly have to be managed for

the benefit of both people and biodiversity. However, cities are evolving rapidly,

often as a result of technological innovation alongside societal change.

Understanding how urban ecosystems will change in response to technological

innovation is a novel and exciting field. To tackle this research area, you will join a

small team to help in the collection of field based biodiversity survey data, or

contribute to collating and synthesising existing research evidence relevant to the

impacts of automation and ‘smart cities’ on the natural environment. This could

include the impacts of urbanisation and pollution on ecosystems, habitats and

species, or conceptualising how robotics, automation and technology may act as

emerging threats to the natural world.

http://www.goabroad.ualberta.ca/qes

mailto:[email protected]




Position Description

You will be working under the supervision of Dr Martin Dallimer, and in support of

the research being carried out by Dr Mark Goddard. During summer 2018 Mark will

be conducting some preliminary field-based research in greenspaces in and around

the City of Leeds. This will include, for example, biodiversity monitoring and

vegetation structure measurements. In addition, Mark will be carrying out reviews

and expert opinion elicitation regarding how automation might impact the natural

world. You will be assisting Mark in carrying out these two pieces of work.

Duties/Responsibilities

Depending on the needs of the project and the skills of the successful intern, duties

will include some or all of the following:

Assisting with ecological field surveys, such as monitoring biodiversity or

habitat quality or measuring vegetation characteristics and structure.

Collating evidence and data from the published literature

Collecting data from experts in the fields of robotics, automation and ‘smart

cities’ regarding environmental impacts of emerging technologies


Qualifications (including specific skills, areas of study, language competencies)

A background in ecology, biodiversity or environmental sciences,

possiblincluding environmental social sciences

Experience in carrying out field work

Ability to read and understand complex datasets and statistical analyses, as

published in the scientific literature

Numerate, with some experience of statistics

Good interpersonal skills

Self-motivation and independence

Additional Information (please include any additional information / instructions for applicants)

The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) is managed through a unique partnership of Universities Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Canadian universities. This program is

made possible with financial support from the Government of Canada, provincial governments and the private sector.





Joanie Carlyle




Internship Title Bio-inspired electrodeposition methods for the development of self-cleaning, erosion-corrosion resistant surfaces

Department/Faculty

School of Mechanical Engineering

City Leeds

Supervising Professor Dr Richard Barker



12 weeks

Start date flexible

End date flexible Hours (per week)

35

Project Description

Electrodeposition has been considered as a promising technique to construct large area super-hydrophobic surfaces in light of its simplicity, easy control, low-cost and suitability for practical applications. This project focuses on using this technology in conjunction with our knowledge of nature to engineer adhesive coatings for erosion and corrosion protection. In particular, the work will focus on the fabrication of coatings inspired by the marine mussel. This mussel is able to attach to virtually any substrate through the secretion of the Mytilus edulis foot protein-5 (Mefp-5). Using the knowledge of this adhesive protein, composite coatings will be developed for carbon steel surfaces. These coatings will then be assessed in their ability to provide protection to aggressive oil and gas environments to understand their limits of operation through the application of autoclaves and flow cell systems. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques will also be employed to investigate the morphology and the chemical composition of the coatings.



The role will involve collaborating with current PhD and post-docs within the institute of functional surfaces in mechanical engineering. Students will be trained to use a variety of different analytical techniques during the course of the project and will have the opportunity to work in state-of-the-art corrosion research labs with acoustic emission sensors. The research group currently consists of 11 PhD student and 4 post docs in the area of corrosion and material degradation, providing a wealth of expertise and advice in the lab for summer interns.


Development and calibration of acoustic emission system

Devising appropriate experiments and methodologies to establish links between particle size and acoustic emission responses

Development of a non-intrusive technique to accurately determine large particle sizes

Writing a report of the results with a view to publication


The student should ideally have a Mechanical or Chemical Engineering background. The student must be competent in the English language.


Please contact Dr Barker by email for further information

The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) is managed through a unique partnership of Universities

Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Canadian universities. This program is made possible with financial support from the Government of Canada, provincial governments and the private sector.







Joanie Carlyle




Internship Title Development of enzyme-based hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells

Department/Faculty Faculty of Biological Sciences/The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology

City Leeds

Supervising Professor Lars J. C. Jeuken



12 – 20 weeks

Start date May 2018

End date August 2018

Hours (per week) Full time (37.5 hours)

Project Description

Fuel cells are a type of battery in which the electrical energy is stored in the forms of

a (transportable) fuel. The best-known example of this is the hydrogen fuel cell,

which forms the core of current-day technologies such as the hydrogen car. Current

hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells (HOFCs) rely on a rare and precious noble metal

catalyst, platinum, to catalyse the oxidation of hydrogen to hydrogen ions (protons).

Hydrogenases are a class of biocatalyst that perform the same reactions using cheap,

earth-abundant metals (nickel and iron) and have long been acknowledged as

promising biocatalysts for HOFCs, potentially reducing their production cost.


This project is for a research technician to study the potential of commercial

exploitation of hydrogenase-based HOFCs. You will investigate if membrane-bound

hydrogenases could be used a biocatalyst in HOFCs. In this project, you will prepare

various cathode electrodes and compare their performance, modify and characterise

the cathode surface with membrane-bound hydrogenases and study their biocatalytic

activity using electrochemical methods.


In this project, you will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the project in

the lab. You will communicate with the supervisor on a weekly basis to plan the

experimental strategy and discuss previous results. You will write a report to

summarise the main findings.




This position is suitable for a 3rd

or 4rd undergraduate students in the area of

(bio)chemistry, biophysics, bioengineering or related disciplines. Understanding of

(membrane) enzymes or electrochemistry would be beneficial, but is not absolutely

required. The applicant has to be proficient in English.


The technologies related to this research project are described in the following

papers:

Heath, G.R., Li, M., Rong, H., Radu, V., Frielingsdorf, S., Lenz, O., Butt, J.N., Jeuken, L.J.C. (2017)

Multilayered lipid membrane stacks for biocatalysis using membrane enzymes. Adv. Funct. Mat., 27,

Art. No. 1606265. DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201606265

Radu, V., Frielingsdorf, S., Evans, S.D., Lenz, O., Jeuken, L.J.C. (2014) Enhanced Oxygen-Tolerance

of the Full Heterotrimeric Membrane-Bound [NiFe]-Hydrogenase of Ralstonia eutropha, J. Am.

Chem. Soc., 136, 8512-8515. DOI: 10.1021/ja503138p Spotlight:DOI: 10.1021/ja5060466


made possible with financial support from the Government of Canda, provincial governments and the private sector.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201606265

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja503138p

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja5060466






City Leeds

Country UK

Primary Contact Name International Office (First and Last)

Joanie Carlyle




Internship Title Valuing Trees on Harewood House estate for carbon storage and pollution mitigation

Department/Faculty School of Geography, Faculty of Environment

City Leeds

Supervising Professor Dr Julie Peacock and Dr Karen Bacon

Supervisor’s Email [email protected] and [email protected]


12 weeks

Start date Late May/ early June 2018

End date August 2018

Hours (per week) 37

Project Description

As places of outstanding beauty and cultural significance, historic parks and gardens are

important to society today in providing a stimulating and healthy environment for outdoor

activities and social wellbeing. Many of the trees integral to these landscapes are of great

age and provide an important ecosystem of their own. Yet little has been done to calculate

the natural capital of the trees in these important sites. Harewood House estate in Leeds,

West Yorkshire is one such historic parkland, which would be the study site for this project.

Using the iTrees software this project will develop at good baseline value of the trees at

Harewood House in terms of their structural, carbon storage, and flood and pollution

mitigation value. This project will extend a pilot project started in summer 2017 at

Harewood House, which valued the trees in two small areas of the estate. The aim will be

to build up a more detailed data set for the trees at Harewood House and potentially

extend the work to include woody shrubs.

Understanding the potential of an ecosystem to store carbon is important for climate

mitigation planning. By providing organisations with detailed information on their trees

ability to store carbon it will allow them to plan for maintaining and increasing their

organisations contributions to carbon storage.

The i-Trees software was developed by the US national forest association to analyse urban

and rural forests. In the UK there have been many projects focusing on the value of urban

trees, but considering the unique ecosystems of historic parkland, often found on the edge

of urban conurbations, has been neglected. The value of a tree the i-tree software








This applied project will involve an intensive field campaign, followed by data analysis and production of a final report with recommendations for Harewood’s tree management policy. The project would give the student the opportunity to plan and implement a field campaign and develop a range of research skills and experience working with a non-academic research partner. There may also be an opportunity to be involved in outreach relating to the project findings.


The student will be responsible for developing project aims and objectives in negotiation with representatives from the Harewood House Trust and project supervisors. They would undertake an extensive literature review, lead the field campaign (with support from supervisors and Harewood Estate Managers), analyse data and produce a final report.



· An understanding of plant ecology/environmental sciences/physical geography or related subject area is required. · Good data analysis skills are required. · Good oral and written communication skills are needed. · Previous experience of fieldwork is beneficial but not essential, as training will be provided in a range of plant ecological techniques, including tree identification and taking tree measurements.


Further information on the Harewood House estate can be found at: http://harewood.org/explore/gardens-and-grounds/

The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) is managed through a unique partnership of Universities Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Canadian

universities. This program is made possible with financial support from the Government of Canda, provincial governments and the private sector.







Joanie Carlyle




Internship Title Exploring the properties and applications of plant biopolymers as eco-friendly raw

materials

Department/Faculty Biological sciences

City Leeds

Supervising Professor Dr. Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso



16 weeks

Start date 15/5/2018

End date 31/08/2018

Hours (per week) 40

Project Description

Plant cell walls are the source of raw materials for manufacturing high-value

products for the food and pulp/paper industry. Cell wall components are also

important in healthcare as bio-composites for tissue engineering, drug production

and diagnostics. Many of these applications emerged from investigating the

properties of cell wall polymers in biological systems. We recently described that

callose (a plant cell wall polymer) increases cellulose elasticity while maintaining or

increasing cellulose plasticity (properties similar to those of a plasticizer). Here, we

will investigate if these properties could be used for the design of new natural,

biodegradable and recyclable substitute of synthetic plastic.


The student will be integrated in a project driven by 2 postdoctoral researchers

studying the properties of cell wall biopolymers. The work will involve

- Grow and collect plant tissues

- Perform cell wall extractions

- Determine callose/cellulose concentration

- To assist the postdoctoral measurements of cellulose crystallinity and

determine correlations with cell wall mechanical properties.






- To assist research and contribute to outputs and the design of the experiments

- To evaluate methods and techniques used and results obtained by other

researchers and to relate such evaluations to their own work

- To participate in lab meetings and seminars and present research output

where appropriate



- attention to detail

- responsibility and ability to work to deadlines

- good theoretical knowledge in plant cell wall/ biopolymers research

- Interest in learning about and working with plants



made possible with financial support from the Government of Canda, provincial governments and the private sector.

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