Hub for the National Fellowships in Fluid Dynamics (NFFDy Hub)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Engineering
Abstract
EPSRC is about to launch a call for 8-12 National Fellowships in Fluid Dynamics (NFFDy). The aim of this proposal is to embed these fellowships within the UK Fluids community using the resources and structure of the existing UK Fluids Network (UKFN). The UKFN has already shown how over 1000 fluid dynamics researchers in the UK can work together across nearly 50 Special Interest Groups. The NFFDY Hub will manage two key activities to enhance the continued success of the UK Fluids Community. First, the Hub will support the NFFDy cohorts throughout their research projects so that they are embedded within the UK Fluid Dynamics community. Second the Hub will enable a significant upgrade of the facilitation and organisation of the UK Fluids Network. The Hub will thereby create a national environment that empowers the UK Fluids community to grow its global reach and leadership, respond to the UK's societal challenges, and prepare for continued research and innovation opportunities.
Organisations
| Description | The 11 NFFDy fellows are spread throughout the UK and work in very different research areas. The NFFDy Hub provides the support to develop the fellows into a cohort and enrich the experience of their fellowships as a group as well as individuals. The fellows meet online every fortnight in a regular slot, with sessions of problem solving and general discussion interleaved with presentations on the fellows' research work. The 6-week residential Summer Programmes provide an additional and sustained environment for the fellows to interact, not only with each other but with other ECRs, through attending short courses on the chosen theme and, in particular, by working together in small teams for 4 weeks on scoping studies. The first Summer Programme, on 'Data in Fluids', was held in Cambridge, and involved an additional 15 ECRs, partly supported by the NFFDy Hub. Mentoring is offered as an ongoing resource for the fellows, according to individual requirements; and some fellows are developing outreach activities aimed at stimulating interest in fluid dynamics at school. |
| Exploitation Route | The activities of the NFFDy Hub can provide a model for UKRI fellowships targeted at other disciplines. The NFFDy Hub actively publicises the fellowships, giving visibility to the importance of fluid dynamics to UKRI, and providing motivation for the development of a new, ambitious UK Fluids Network 2.0. |
| Sectors | Education |
| URL | https://nffdyblog9.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Summer Programme - Brokerage Event #1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Brokerage Event #1: The first of two 2-hour Zoom meetings was held in support of the 6-week NFFDy Summer Programme (Cambridge, 10 July - 18 August, 2023) to facilitate the formation of teams to work on SP research projects. Project proposers attended along with early career researchers interested in one a number of open places available. Breakout rooms were set up for each project that had been added to a padlet (see below). Along with Brokerage Event #2, this made a significant contribution towards the formation of effective and complementary project teams, which were later formalised in research proposals submitted to the NFFDy Hub. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://padlet.com/NFFDy/SP1_Proposals |
| Description | Summer Programme - Brokerage Event #2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Brokerage Event #2: The second of two 2-hour Zoom meetings was held in support of the 6-week NFFDy Summer Programme (Cambridge, 10 July - 18 August, 2023) to facilitate the formation of teams to work on SP research projects. Project proposers attended along with early career researchers interested in one a number of open places available. Breakout rooms were set up for each project that had been added to a padlet (see below). Along with Brokerage Event #1, this made a significant contribution towards the formation of effective and complementary project teams, which were later formalised in research proposals submitted to the NFFDy Hub. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://padlet.com/NFFDy/SP1_Proposals |
| Description | Summer Programme on 'Data in Fluids' (Cambridge) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The 6-week Summer Programme (SP) on the theme of 'Data in Fluids' took place in Cambridge from 10th July to 18th August 2023. Besides the 11 NFFDy fellows, a further 15 early career researchers from 8 other institutions across the UK took part, following an open call to the fluids community, and were partly supported by the NFFDy Hub. The SP was hosted in the Department of Engineering, alongside the department's Fluids group, who also benefited from the opportunity to interact with the SP participants over an extended period. The purpose of the programme was to provide training on the different ways data is encountered in fluids research, covering data gathering, processing and dissemination, through a combination of lectures and discussion meetings with experts, together with working in teams on short scoping studies aligned with the SP's theme that could lead to extended collaboration and publications. The participants attended short lecture courses of 1-4 days on different data collection and processing techniques, plus a demonstration overview of PIV at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. In the remainder of the time, they worked on projects in one of eight teams. Other activities included sessions on outreach, funding, policy and academic publishing. The project work has been written up and will appear as a set of proceedings. Several of the individual projects show promise for further development and subsequent write-up as journal papers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://nffdyblog9.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Webinar explaining the NFFDy Scheme, with Q&As |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A Zoom webinar was held shortly after the NFFDy Expression of Interest opening date to explain the scheme and provide a Q&A session to anyone interested in applying for one of the fellowships. The portfolio manager from UKRI/EPSRC was on hand to answer research council questions. The webinar was recorded and made available on YouTube to maximise availability to any interested parties (see URL below). Together with a brokerage padlet, used to bring together potential applicants and hosts, the webinar made a valuable contribution to stimulating interest in the fellowships and facilitating applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIfV8L_9i1Q |