The Center for Life Cycle Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, invites applications for 2 Ph.D. and 1 Postdoc positions on the modelling of linkages between renewable energy transition and critical materials systems. The positions are available as soon as possible starting from early 2020.
Understanding the material constraints of the energy and climate transition
Will there be supply chain bottlenecks of critical materials, either geotechnically or geopolitically, in our climate and energy transition in the next decades? And how can we address resource constraints with dynamics in technological and societal development along the entire value chain? These are the fundamental research questions that are to be answered with these PhD and postdoc projects.
These positions will be primarily funded by the project “Critical Resource Bottlenecks and Constraint Aware Pathways towards 100% Renewable Energy in Denmark (ReCAP)” (see a brief introduction here: https://dff.dk/en/grants/research-leaders-2018/gang-liu), in which collaboration with core industry partners (e.g., wind, fuel cell, and battery), GeoSurveys, and research groups (e.g., at MIT and Cambridge) is planned. Further association with the VILLUM Center for the Science of Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals (see details here: http://www.v-sustain.dtu.dk/) is expected.
Qualification requirements
The successful candidates should have relevant education background in industrial ecology, environmental engineering, energy system analysis, supply chain modelling, mathematics and computer science, or the like. The candidates are expected to be enthusiastic about working in an interdisciplinary and international academic environment.
Experience in one of the following aspects is a prerequisite: (i) Industrial ecology expertise, particularly on dynamic material flow analysis and multi-regional input-output analysis; (ii) Knowledge on energy technologies and energy systems modelling; and (iii) Experience in programming (e.g., R, Matlab, or Python), especially for spatial (e.g., GIS and geo-computation) and big data analysis (e.g., machine learning and deep learning).
The Center for Life Cycle Engineering
The Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology is located in Odense, the main campus of the University of Southern Denmark. Odense is the hometown of the world famous fairy tale writer Hans Christian Anderson, the third largest city in Denmark (about 1.5 hours train to Copenhagen), and a dynamic and lively student town. The successful candidate will be affiliated with SDU Life Cycle Engineering, which is acknowledged for its unique research on global, holistic, and systems integration of agriculture, energy, and materials sectors.
Inquiry and application
If you are interested in one of the positions, please briefly state your motivation and attach your CV in an email to Professor Gang Liu (gli@kbm.sdu.dk) as soon as possible.
This is an informal flyer about the positions. The formal call for candidates will be online as soon as possible. You will need to apply for these positions formally via the SDU website (more information will follow).
Further information for international applicants about entering and working in Denmark: https://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/international_staff. PhD employment is governed by the Protocol on PhD Research Fellows signed by the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information about salary and conditions of employment: https://www.sdu.dk/en/Forskning/PhD/Bliv_Phd/Conditions.