Research Associate: Sonic Intangibles

Salary: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 06 October 2024

The Role

Sonic Intangibles: Northumbria and Newcastle Universities Sonification Hub for Innovation in Sound and Meaning is a two-year interdisciplinary project. The Project Lead is Professor Paul Vickers in the Department of Computer & Information sciences at neighbouring Northumbria University with Co-Leads at Northumbria University and Newcastle University.

This two-year project seeks to bring intangibles, such as distant galaxies, computer network traffic, the earth’s magnetosphere, or the quantum states of materials into our audible experience.

As well as studio and experimental work the project also engages a wide range of the public from school children to adult audiences.

You will work on the Sonic Intangibles project with a primary focus on developing research using sonification in the fields of astronomy, materials science, computing, and space weather. You will have a background in contemporary technologically-mediated musical or sonic arts practice. Applications are welcomed from practitioners who have a demonstrated ability to theorise their work to a high research standard or from theorists with practice-as-research experience.

The project team will include another full-time Research Associate at Northumbria University with whom you will work in close collaboration. Familiarity with sonification practice and research will be essential in developing the interdisciplinary collaboration with the wider team.

This is an exciting opportunity to collaborate on a new area of interdisciplinary research. Please see the attached role and person specification for more details. For an informal discussion about this post please contact Dr Bennett Hogg at bennett.hogg@ncl.ac.uk. For further information about the Northumbria University RA position, please see Northumbria University’s vacancies page.

This post is fixed-term for 24 months with a start date as soon as possible in January 2025.  To apply please include your CV and a covering letter detailing how you meet the essential criteria for the post.

Please note Newcastle University is updating its recruitment software platform this summer and this post will therefore be at advert until 6 October 2024 with interviews taking place as soon as possible in late October. Please inform Dr Bennett Hogg by email when you submit your application via our vacancy system.

Key Accountabilities

• To lead and collaborate on the role of music/sonic arts practice and relevant aesthetics in the design and execution of data sonification
• To lead and collaborate in the dissemination of project results through journal articles and conference presentations and public-facing media
• To work closely with team members at both universities in the design of new experimental platforms through which intangible phenomena can be experienced and communicated
• To lead on the collection, analysis, and critical reflection of data from the project’s ongoing studies and platforms to drive the project forward
• Work successfully in an interdisciplinary research team and wider collaborators to publish world-leading research
• Present outputs of the research from the research team to scientific and non-scientific audiences, in written and oral form
• Contribute to the positive culture and general strengths of the team; for example, through participation in outreach, leading initiatives to promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in organising/participating in research events

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Demonstrable ability to lead in the design, organisation, and running of experiments, interviews, focus groups, and related activities with the team and research participants
• Strong working knowledge of methods and techniques suitable for research in the area of contemporary musical/sonic art aesthetics
• Familiarity with methods and techniques in data sonification and auditory display
• Track record of dissemination of research via appropriate journals, conferences, and/or professional-level performance or exhibition venues
• Commitment to interdisciplinary working
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Available for overseas conference travel as project(s) requires

Attributes and Behaviour

• High level analytical and problem-solving capability
• Ability to work independently using own initiative, be self-motivated and proactive and to meet strict deadlines
• Demonstrable ability to work cooperatively as part of a team, including participating in research meetings and working on joint research projects
• A commitment to the values of equality, diversity and inclusion

Qualifications

• PhD (complete or very close to submission) in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience

The Person (Desirable)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Working knowledge of ethnographic and self-reflective methods for the evaluation of research practice
• Familiarity with (or demonstrable ability to become familiar with) some common technologies and platforms such as Pd, Max/MSP, SuperCollider, Ableton, Python, etc
• Experience of working on research projects, including planning and conducting studies and leading on the analysis of collected data
• Track record of professional or professional-level work in areas of contemporary technologically-mediated music or sonic arts practice

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27380