The Yao lab at Yale University has a Postdoctoral Scholar position available for the sustainable development of the bioeconomy. Bioeconomy is an emerging concept that uses biomass to produce energy, chemicals, and products. Biomass is related to many nature-based solutions to climate change. The Yao Lab develops systems analysis tools to understand the carbon, environmental, and economic implications of different biomass utilization technologies throughout their life cycle. The research aims to assess, identify, and optimize different pathways to a sustainable bioeconomy future. The Yao Lab has multiple ongoing projects under this research direction. Those projects investigate various technologies for producing materials and products from woody biomass (e.g., biochar, wood products, and advanced materials such as bio-based plastics).
The position will focus on:
- Conducting geospatial analysis, life cycle assessment, and techno-economic analysis for sustainable production and utilization of woody biomass.
- Using process-based simulations to quantify changes in carbon stock and GHG fluxes for different forest management practices and wood product pathways.
- Leading and developing innovative systems modeling frameworks to understand geospatial and temporal implications of woody biomass utilization from economic, climate, and ecological perspectives.
- Facilitating collaborations with researchers in different disciplines, including engineering, forestry, and economics.
- Mentoring graduate and undergraduate students and advising student course projects.
The ideal candidate should have a Ph.D. in engineering, environmental science, forestry, or systems analysis. In addition to skills and publications related to LCA/TEA for biomass systems, the candidate is expected to have strong modeling skills in GIS and ecosystem/land use models.
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and their CV, along with a list of at least three references to Dr. Yuan Yao, y.yao@yale.edu. Candidates who will attend ISIE 2023 conference are welcome to contact Dr. Yuan Yao to meet and discuss the position at the conference. Lab website: https://yao.research.yale.edu/