Research Fellow in Machine Learning for Crop-Climate Modelling

Are you a skilled crop-climate modeller with an interest in working in a multi-disciplinary team? Are you ready to help develop fibre-rich white bread for UK consumers? Do you have excellent mathematical and Machine Learning experience? 

We seek a motivated and versatile post-doctoral researcher to work on a UKRI-funded project to model crop responses to climate variability and change using crop-climate models. The project, “Increasing UK Dietary Fibre – The Case for the Great White British Loaf”, will work towards transformation of the UK wheat supply chain to sustainably supply fibre-rich white bread to UK consumers. The project provides an excellent opportunity for you to gain experience of a diverse range of agricultural and food economics research challenges and techniques.

White bread accounts for 76% of bread sold in the UK with around 12 million loaves being sold each day. Its high popularity, the need for increased fibre in the diet, and slow acceptance of changes to high dietary fibre offerings (e.g. towards wholegrain), means increasing the fibre content of white bread is highly likely to assist in increasing overall UK dietary fibre intake.

We envisage two crop-climate methodologies being used in the project. The first is the machine learning version of the GLAM crop model, applied to UK wheat by drawing on remotely-sensed data. The second is drawing on existing global simulations of wheat, in order to provide an indication of the comparative advantage of UK wheat production and the way in which that will evolve over time as climate continues to change.

By developing the core crop-climate modelling capability for the project, you will be key to the project’s success. The team comprises seven Research Fellows, plus PIs, including food and behavioural scientists, economists, wheat experts and mathematical food chain modellers based at the Universities of Reading and Leeds, as well as Rothamsted Research, working with industrial partners across the UK wheat supply chain.

You will work within the collegiate and dynamic environment of the Climate Impacts group, which is part of the School of Earth and Environment, and the cross-campus Priestley International Centre for Climate, and the Global Food and Environment Institute.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Andy Challinor, Chair of Climate Impacts

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 3194

Email: a.j.challinor@leeds.ac.uk 

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