Area of Research: Our research focuses on using electricity to power chemical transformations involving carbon. The goal is to reduce the carbon intensity of the production of chemicals, food indigents and fuels that, today, mostly rely on fossil hydrocarbons. We seek especially to lower the intensity of large-scale commodity chemicals, food indigents and fuels.
Our approach is to unite basic and applied science in order to pursue this mission-oriented goal. Our team seeks to attract experts conducting technoeconomic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle analysis (LCA) of electrocatalytic processes, biological processes and thermocatalytic processes, including their cascade approaches.
The specific processes we are considering include:
- Artificial food production that uses methane as feedstock.
- Artificial food production that uses CO2 as feedstock.
- Direct air capture (DAC) of CO2, including capture, transportation and sequestration.
Description of Duties: Successful candidates will place their major focus on achieving original first-authored publications in interdisciplinary academic journals. They will work effectively in a team environment and will value the chance to reach across disciplines and to work with partners in industry and at our partner U.S. Department of Energy national labs. Post-doctoral fellows will take advantage of the opportunity to increase their mentoring skills, helping doctoral students to develop as scientist-engineers.
Essential Qualifications:
- Applicants must have received, or be close to receiving, their PhD degree in an area of chemical engineering, bioengineering, civil engineering, environmental science or other related fields.
- Applicants must possess at least one of the following, or transferable skills:
- Expertise in topics related to the bioreactor, thermocatalysis, electrocatalysis, carbon capture and separation process.
- Expertise in topics related to SOC sequestration and GHG emissions in crop production.
- Demonstrated ability to perform LCA and TEA and to write related scientific reports.
- Experience using process modeling tools such as Aspen Plus, CHEMCAD, and/or SuperPro.
- Experience using software such as GREET, openLCA, SimaPro, or GaBi.
Salary: $58,000 USD/year
Expected Start Date: Jan 1, 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter
Appointment: Term – (12 months) with the potential for renewal
How to apply:
Please include in your application package a cover letter; your full academic CV; information on 2 referees that are prepared to be consulted; your two most relevant publications. Please send as a single combined PDF whose file name includes your first and last names to Melissa Rosen (melissa.rosen@northwestern.edu) with the subject line CO2 PDF Application by Nov 20, 2023. Evaluation of candidates will begin immediately and continue until filled.
Posting Date: Oct 28, 2023
Closing Date: Nov 20, 2023