POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH SCHOLAR

Postdoctoral Research Scholar

Location

Tempe, AZ

Open Date

Dec 17, 2021

Description

The Center for Negative Carbon Emissions at Arizona State University (ASU) has an immediate opening for a postdoctoral researcher to participate in a one-year study to develop an innovative social and policy framework for carbon dioxide management.

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, CO2 from fossil sources has been dumped into the air, raising its concentration from 280 ppm to 415 ppm. The rise in CO2 (2.5 ppm/yr) is still accelerating, even though COVID-19 caused a temporary slowdown. Roughly half of the CO2 persists for centuries in the air making it necessary to limit aggregate emissions rather than the rate of emission. Seamless scientific evidence clearly shows that limiting global warming to 2 °C cannot be achieved without negative emissions. Transforming the world’s energy infrastructure and creating such negative emissions at the necessary scale (on the order of 20 to 40 Gt CO2 per year) requires more than new technologies; it requires social innovation to create a framework that allows and motivates the rapid introduction of new technology, fairly distributes the burden between developed and developing countries, between the present and future generations, and between rich and poor. Our goal is to analyze the strength and weaknesses of a shift to a paradigm that treats CO2 emissions as a waste management problem and to expose stakeholders to this idea. Different groups of climate change stakeholders find a waste management approach more appealing since it cuts through some of the complexity of dealing with carbon dioxide emissions. This approach opens door to a wide range of technological solutions that would be overlooked in the traditional framework of treating carbon as pollution.

Beyond this fully funded opportunity, these same research capabilities will be applied to other current and future CNCE programs requiring innovative policy and economic frameworks to support decarbonization of the economy and negative emissions. 

Essential Duties:

•  The position will operate independently, contribute to and advance the scientific and research directions, and work in a multidisciplinary environment.
•  Utilize conceptual, as well as quantitative and qualitative analytics skills.
•  Draw on an understanding of technical, economic, and governance issues surrounding climate change and of carbon market and standards including 45Q and California LCFS.
•  Conduct product Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis.
•  Program in languages such as Python or R. Perform data handling and visualization technics.

Minimum Qualifications

The applicant must have a Ph.D. in engineering, economics, supply chain, public policy or a related discipline on or before the start date and be within 4 years of receipt of their degree.

Desired Qualifications

•  The applicant must be an active learner and passionate about issues around addressing climate change. Have strong written and verbal communication skills is a must.
•  Deep understanding of issues surrounding climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainability
•  Knowledge of carbon capture, storage, and utilization technologies
•  Experience in working in a multi-disciplinary environment
•  Experience in teaching and mentoring students at the graduate and undergraduate level.
•  Experience in agent-based modeling.

Application Instructions

Applicants should submit the following materials:  

•  Cover letter specifying relevant qualifications and training
•  Curriculum vitae
•  Contact information for at least three professional references

We will begin reviewing applications on February 14, 2022 and will continue to review incoming applications on a biweekly basis until the position is filled.

EOE/AA