VACANCY FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLER
(TWO YEAR RESEARCH POSITION)
ZENECA Agrochemicals is a successful international business, with several
thousand employees in Research and Development world-wide. We have two main
Research sites, one at Jealott's Hill in the UK, and a second at Richmond,
California, with a field trials network stretched across dozens of sites
world-wide.
We currently have a vacancy for an environmental modeller at Jealott's Hill.
To ensure the safety of pesticides to man and the environment extensive data
are collected, including the amounts of pesticide residue present on crops.
In fact, one of the major activities in our Environmental Sciences function
is performing crop residue trials. These involve the application of
pesticides to crops in field trials, and analysing the pesticide residue
content of the edible crop parts. Many of hundreds of such trials are
performed every year covering variables such as countries, different crops,
different application rates and timings, various crop parts and processed
products, and of course different pesticides. These data are ultimately
used in conjunction with toxicity data to determine the safety of the use of
the pesticide products to man, in order that government authorities can be
satisfied that the proposed uses of the products can be permitted.
Since human safety is involved, the activity of crop residue work has
naturally become very conservative in nature, based entirely on real
measurements, many of which are essentially repetitive. And since there has
often been little scope for debate about what trials have to be done, there
has been little reason to sit back and look at the data and seek to
quantitatively understand it. This contrasts with some other areas of
scientific activity in the company, where a quantitative understanding (and
if possible a theoretical understanding) of the data has become of paramount
importance. However it is clear that the complex datasets generated are
amenable to understanding, since experienced pesticide residue chemists have
a pretty good general idea of what the results will be before they do a
trial, and a fair amount is known from other work on the fundamental
processes involved.
Your project will be to develop a better quantitative understanding of the
parameters which govern crop residue data in order to be able to predict
residues on crops and processed commodities. There any many practical
applications opening up which will rely on the ability to predict crop
residues.
You will be a numerate self starter with good communication skills, keen to
make the most of this exciting opportunity.
Jealott's Hill Research Station is located in pleasant surroundings between
Bracknell and Maidenhead. We offer a range of benefits including profit
sharing, pension scheme, subsidised restaurant and lively sports and
recreation club.
If you wish to apply for this vacancy please send your CV, with full career
details including qualifications and experience to date, quoting reference
ERAS2 to Helen Pearson, Human Resources Department, Zeneca Agrochemicals,
Jealott's Hill Research Station, Bracknell, Berkshire RG42 6EY, or email to
[log in to unmask] again quoting ERAS2. Address any informal
inquiries to Kim Travis, [log in to unmask]
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