David MacKay was the Regius Professor of Engineering and previously the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Professor of Physics. He had been a Fellow of Darwin College from 1992 until his untimely death. His expertise and interests were very broad, from information theory, physics and mathematics and far beyond and he is renowned worldwide for his work on energy sustainability. His book on information and inference was an instant classic and astonishing in its depth. His second book Sustainable Energy - Without Hot Air was downloaded over half a million times within a few years of publication, has been translated into eleven languages, and said by Bill Gates to be the best book for understanding clean energy. The Fellowship is available for research in any area drawing on mathematics and information theory, particularly those including applications in sustainability, policy or technology that follow on from David MacKay’s work.
Eligibility
The Fellowship is intended for an outstanding researcher who is completing, or who has recently completed, their PhD Degree. No candidate should have completed in total more than seven years of research since the start of their doctorate by 1 October 2017.
Duties
The David MacKay Newton Research Fellow will engage in research full-time in his or her special subject within the broad fields as defined above. The Fellow will be a member of the Governing Body of Darwin College and will be subject to the Statutes and Ordinances of the College. The Statutes include the obligation to reside in or near Cambridge, for at least two-thirds of each University term, but the Governing Body will normally excuse absences made necessary by the nature of the research undertaken.
The Fellow will normally be expected to undertake (remunerated) teaching of 4 hours a week during full term in their main discipline either for Darwin College or for another specified College as appropriate.
Tenure
The Fellowship is tenable for three years, with effect from 1 October 2017.
Benefits
The starting stipend for the David MacKay Newton Research Fellow with a PhD will be set at not less than Point 27 on the Darwin College Single Salary spine (currently £20,874), subject to an annual cost-of-living uplift and to annual increments (the third year stipend at current rates would be £22,421). The stipend will be subject to a 10% reduction for any pre-PhD appointee. Membership of the Universities’ Superannuation Scheme is optional. The stipend of Research Fellows who are in receipt of financial support from other sources will be by arrangement, in the light of individual circumstances. Limited rented accommodation may be available for which a charge at normal (subsidised) college rates will be made. A non-pensionable additional allowance of £2,000 per annum (subject to annual review) will be paid if the Research Fellow is not resident in College. In addition, the Research Fellow will be entitled to dine and lunch free of charge at the normal College table whenever meals are served (up to a limit of seven meals in each week). Guests, not normally exceeding two in number on any one occasion, may be entertained at lunch or dinner, ten of them free of charge within any quarter (note termly guest nights with a special menu are subject to charge). An allowance of up to £1,000 a year will be available for receipted travel and research expenses. A further £500 a year available as a subsidy for conferences mounted in the College (paid at the discretion of the Fellowships and Finance Committees).
Applications
Applications should be submitted
here
by 21 November 2016 and must include (a) curriculum vitae; (b) an account, in not more than 500 words, of the proposed research and the background to it; (c) an assurance that, where necessary, appropriate research arrangements have been made; (d) the names and emails of two referees who will also need to submit a reference online by 21 November 2016, and (e) a list of published or unpublished work that would be available for submission if requested. In late December or early January selected candidates will be invited to submit copies of written work and may then be called for interview at Darwin College, or by skype, in February 2017. Election will be made as soon as possible thereafter.
The College follows an equal opportunities policy.