UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change

A call has been opened for a full-time research fellow at the Unesco Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change at ESCI-UPF, in the area of Life Cycle Assessment of new technologies, specifically of Chemical Engineering technologies.

About the Chair

The UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI-UPF is an international centre of excellence in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and a leading source of innovative research on LCA and its application on mitigating climate change.

The Chair is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Abaut the project

• The contract is linked to a non-competitive project, financed by the Swiss company Deasyl
• The research is related to the development and application of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology to chemical synthesis. 
• Specifically, we are seeking, among other results, LCA studies comparing 5 chemical technologies developed by Deasyl with 5 conventional technologies fulfilling similar functions. Therefore, the candidate will have to work very intensively in order to finish 10 LCAs in one year.
• The scope may include comparing own pilot vs external industrial technologies, well known vs poorly known external technologies, etc. This means that the level of uncertainty is well known and accepted in advance, and that many proxies may be used in the studies.

Activities and capacities of the postdoctoral fellow

The life cycle assessment and the carbon footprint are methodologies, based on material and energy balances and their conversion to environmental indicators, which are applied to a multitude of systems (products, services, organisations, cities ...). 

• As said, the research fellow must develop methodology to apply them to “chemical reactions and substances”. For this, he/she must be able to work transversally in different sectors of the production and consumption chain, abstracting them to programmable mathematical models. 
• As a complement to the study of chemicals, the fellow will participate in different environmental projects and participate in the public debate. 
• In addition to the multi-sectoral aspect and environmental analysis, the fellow must acquire and apply knowledge on chemistry in flow, and, if possible, social and economic analysis, which allow a holistic quantitative assessment of sustainability.
• It is intended that, once the research objective is completed, the research fellow will have acquired research skills for academic accreditation. For this, he/she will participate in all the tasks of the research group. In this sense, he/she will be able to organize a research project, prepare a scientific proposal, present results in congresses and write scientific articles in top-level international journals. 
• He/she must demonstrate an important efficiency in the work, which will entail the writing of a minimum of one article per year and an annual international congress, which will bring him/her closer to the academic accreditation.
• He/she will participate in the relevant meetings of the research group and the department, and in the management tasks of the research group. 

Candidate Profile

• Chemical Engineer (Industrial Engineering or chemist could be accepted if experience in chemical engineering is demonstrated)
• Complementary education or training in environmental engineering such as: Master in environmental engineering; or PhD thesis in Life Cycle Assessment or Carbon Footprint. LCA knowledge (and practise is essential)
• A candidate with a post-university experience of at least 3 years or a finished PhD is desired; however, a lower level may be accepted, if sufficient knowledge in chemical engineering and life cycle assessment is demonstrated
• Specific requirements: 
  • A good knowledge of English and modelling skills are important
  • Immediate availability is mandatory

Conditions of the contract

• The contract is full-time and will last one year
• The contract will be renewed annually to up to three years, if agreed
• In the case that the candidate does not prove a minimum of skills during the first trimester, another candidate will be hired for the remaining time
• The grant will cover
  • Salary for the research fellow: 35,000 euros/year cost company (approximately 26,000 euros/year gross salary)
  • Attendance to conferences: 1,000 euros/year
  • Management and supervision; Specialized hardware and software maintenance; University indirect cost
• The research will take place mainly at the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change ESCI-UPF, in Barcelona (provided the covid19 situation allows it), under the direction of Dr Pere Fullana and/or Dr. Alba Bala. Working from home will be possible, if needed. 
• Confidentiality clauses will be signed by all the parties

Procedures of the call

• The candidates have to send their CV, a motivation letter and the list of subjects and scores of Bachelor and Master studies, to the folling form.
• Application deadline: 20th February 2021
• The evaluation of the candidates will be carried out by UNESCO Chair ESCI-UPF, leading up to 3 finalists (provided they obtain a minimum of 50 points and there is a difference among them not exceeding 10 points)
• The scoring system will be as follows: 
  • Education excellence: 20 points
  • Research excellence (projects and publications): 20 points
  • Academic/experience fit into chemical engineering + LCA: 50 points
  • Others (English, availability, etc.): 10 points
• A virtual interview in English will be performed in which the finalists will explain how they fit with the proposal and the selection of the candidate will be approved by both UNESCO Chair ESCI-UPF and DEASYL. 

Apply 

*Deadline: February 20th 2021