Offer:

PhD thesis at crossroads of sustainability and materials sciences used in healthcare services. Located at the University of Bordeaux, France, in close collaboration with the University of Waterloo, Canada.
Researchers and labs involved:

  • Prof. Guido Sonnemann, Research Group CyVi on Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Chemistry, Institute of Molecular Sciences (ISM), University of Bordeaux, France
  • Prof. Steven B. Young, Waterloo Industrial Ecology Group, School of School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo, Canada
  • Prof. Cassandra Thiel, Department of Population Health, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York University (NYU), USA – collaborator

Start: October 2017                                           Period: 3 years

PhD title: Integrated assessment of the substitution and recycling potentials of selected functional materials used in healthcare services for criticality and environmental sustainability

Financing: Initiative of Excellence (IdEx) at the University of Bordeaux

Annual Salary: around 20 000 €

Introduction

From the first scientific collaborations in 2010 to the current institutional relationships, the partnership between the University of Waterloo and the University of Bordeaux has grown rapidly. The joint actions cover a broad spectrum of activities, in particular reinforced collaborations in the following fields: functional materials for energy, nano-­‐sciences and the environment plus health. Between 2010 and 2015 more than 20 doctorates were conducted jointly by the University of Waterloo and the University of Bordeaux under the IDS FunMat program. See http://www.ids-­‐funmat.org for more information.

Considerations of criticality (i.e. supply risk) and environmental sustainability (especially greenhouse gases but also other aspects such as toxicity) currently drive the substitution and recycling of raw materials in the energy, mobility, ICT and machinery tools sectors. A number of studies have been done to assess the criticality of materials used in these sectors individually. This has led for instance to a focus on these sectors within the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) EIT Raw Materials. The proposed project aims to extend the scope of assessing the substitution and recycling potentials to cover functional materials used in healthcare services and to do the assessment in an integrated way by evaluating criticality and environmental sustainability considerations jointly using life cycle assessment. The framework for this integrated assessment has been developed by Sonnemann et al (2015) at the University of Bordeaux and the method has been made operational within the collaboration with the University of Waterloo
by Cimprich et al (submitted). Pioneering work on carrying out life cycle assessment in the health sector has been done by Prof. Cassandra Thiel (2013), New York University, with whom Prof. Steven B. Young already has academic relations and with whom we will extend our collaboration.

Project

The proposed project aims to extend the scope of assessing the substitution and recycling potentials to cover functional materials used in healthcare services and to do the assessment in an integrated way by evaluating criticality and environmental sustainability considerations jointly using life cycle assessment. The framework for this integrated assessment has been developed at the University of Bordeaux and the method has been made operational and applied for the first time to x-­‐ray equipment within the existing collaboration with the University of Waterloo. It is expected that the PhD thesis will allow us to identify criticality and environmental sustainability challenges of selected functional materials and related products used in healthcare services in an integrated way. Based on this, substitution and recycling potentials can be assessed and adequate strategies be developed and proposed to national and international actors working with critical raw materials.

It is expected that the PhD thesis will identify criticality and environmental sustainability challenges of selected functional materials and related products used in healthcare services in an integrated way, thus extending our work on x-­‐ray imaging equipment by Cimprich et al. (in preparation). The scholarship of healthcare sustainability is severely understudied, and only recently elaborated by the pioneering work of Prof. Thiel at University of Pittsburgh, now at NYU. Based on this, critical material substitution and recycling potentials can be assessed and adequate strategies be developed. The findings may lead to an inclusion of healthcare as a new sector in the KIC EIT Raw Materials. Moreover, the work will enhance and consolidate the geopolitical supply risk
methodology for integrating criticality assessment into environmental life cycle sustainability assessment developed by the joint team of Prof. Guido Sonnemann and Prof. Steven B. Young.

References

  • Sonnemann, G., Gemechu, E.D., Adibi, N., De Bruille, V., Bulle, C. (2015) From a critical review to a conceptual framework for integrating the criticality of resources into Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production
  • Cimprich A, Young SB, Helbig C, Gemechu ED, Thorenz A, Tuma A and Sonnemann G (submitted) Extension of geopolitical supply risk methodology: characterization model applied to conventional and electric vehicles. Journal of Cleaner Production
  • Cimprich A, Young SB, K. Karim, and Sonnemann G (under final preparation) Life cycle assessment of x-­‐ray equipment including critical material indicator. Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

Required  competences:

➢➢ Above average results of Master in Sciences, Engineering or Public Health, preference for material science and engineering process engineering, environmental engineering, chemical engineering and chemistry
➢➢ Strong capacity for the modelling of complex systems
➢➢ Knowledge and experiences in working with resource criticality, life cycle or similar assessments an advantage
➢➢ Good knowledge of English, knowledge of French an asset
➢➢ Willingness to co-­‐locate to accommodate research needs among project partners

Contact:

Please send your candidature by 21 June (first selection round) or at the latest by 28 June 2017 to:
Prof. Guido Sonnemann, Professor in Sustainable Chemistry, University of Bordeaux
The Life Cycle Group CyVi, Institute of Molecular Sciences (ISM)-­‐ UMR 5255 CNRS
Bât. A12, 351 cours de la
Libération, 33405 Talence CEDEX, France
Tel        +33 5 40 00 30 90
Email : guido.sonnemann@u-­‐bordeaux.fr

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