PhD-student or Postdoc position in interdisciplinary climate modeling

Are you interested in how household consumption can affect greenhouse gas emissions in the future? This position will give you the opportunity to explore global climate scenarios and how they relate to future household consumption, both at national level and for different societal groups. As a PhD student or post-doc at Physical Resource Theory, you join an exciting and cutting-edge research environment with colleagues from many different disciplines - all focusing on transitions to a sustainable future.

Project description
The PhD-student or post-doc position will be connected to two of the division's research areas: interdisciplinary climate modeling and sustainable consumption. The interdisciplinary climate modeling research area focuses on the interlinkages between societal and climate systems for achieving a transition to a low-carbon society where carbon emissions are virtually eliminated. The sustainable consumption research area addresses a wide range of research topics related to societal and individual consumption patterns and their consequences for greenhouse gas emissions and resource use.

Information about the division and the department
At the division of Physical Resource Theory, we develop knowledge for transitions to a sustainable future with a high quality of life for the global community. Our research focuses on the interactions between technology, society and nature. We use a systems perspective to perform interdisciplinary research including theory development, mathematical modeling, as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis. We aspire to pursue an active engagement and dialogue with society, through education, stakeholder interaction and support to decision makers. The division has around 50 staff members, faculty and PhD-students with diverse expertise, including engineers, natural and social scientists.

Major responsibilities
As a PhD student or Postdoc, your main responsibility is to pursue your own studies. You are expected to work independently, have the ability to plan and organize your work, to work in close collaboration with other group members and partners, and to be able to communicate scientific results, both orally and in written form, in English.

The research will contribute to the literature on explorative scenario analysis. The main focus for the project is to advance methods for downscaling the global shared socioeconomic pathways (used by the IPCC) to national level with Sweden as a case study. You are expected to conduct statistical analyses on consumption patterns based on detailed data from Statistics Sweden and other sources, and estimate greenhouse gas emissions profiles for different household types. The successful candidate will use these results to link future household consumption patterns with global socio-economic development pathways. Ultimately, the work is expected to contribute of better understanding of future household consumption in the context of different global long-term developments and national climate change mitigation strategies.

As a PhD student, you also have the responsibility to undertake doctoral courses. The doctoral program is supposed to lead to a doctoral degree, equivalent to four years of full-time studies, which includes research, studies in courses, and participation in seminars and conferences. The position is expected to be five years in total, including teaching obligations.

As a post-doc, the position can include teaching of up to 20% of full time employment.

Qualifications
For PhD student position: Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in engineering, economics, physics, mathematics, or similar, with a M.Sc. thesis project corresponding to a minimum of half a study year. The degree should have been awarded at the time of starting the position at the latest. Excellent analytical and communication skills are required. We also expect the applicant to have the ambition to take on responsibility and ability to work independently towards set goals. The PhD student should have good social skills and find it easy to communicate and collaborate with many different types of people. We look for a student with a genuine interest and curiosity in the subject matter of choice.

For Postdoc position: PhD degree in a relevant field, normally awarded within the last three years (with extension for parental leave), including (but not restricted to) engineering, economics, physics, mathematics, or complex systems. A PhD thesis in a research field closely related to the project description, particularly with research experience in scenario modeling, computational modeling and/or statistical analysis is highly meritorious. Documented scientific skills, including demonstrated ability in independent research, publishing in top journals, and presenting in international conferences are meritorious.

Contract terms
For PhD student position: Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

For post-doc position: Full-time temporary employment for two years. The position can be extended up to four years.

For more information about what we offer, please visit Chalmers website.


*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. *** 
   



Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society. The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our six Areas of Advance; Energy, Health Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Materials Science, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 11,000 students and 3,000 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!