The Yao lab in the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale University has a Postdoctoral Fellowship position available for the sustainable development of the bioeconomy. Bioeconomy is an emerging concept that uses biomass to produce energy, chemicals, and products. Biomass is related to many nature-based solutions to climate change. The Yao Lab develops systems analysis tools to understand the carbon, environmental, and economic implications of different biomass conversion technologies throughout their life cycle. The research aims to assess, identify, and optimize different pathways to a sustainable bioeconomy future. The Yao Lab has multiple ongoing projects under this research direction. Those projects investigate a variety of biomass conversion technologies for producing biofuels, bio-chemicals, and wood-based materials.
The position will focus on:
- Conducting geospatial analysis, life cycle assessment, and techno-economic analysis for sustainable production and utilization of biomass, especially woody biomass and agriculture residues, for biochar and biofuel production.
- Leading and developing innovative systems modeling frameworks to understand geospatial and temporal implications of different biomass utilization pathways from economic, climate, and ecological perspectives.
The ideal candidate should have a Ph.D. in engineering, environmental science, agriculture, or systems analysis. In addition to skills and publications related to LCA/TEA, the candidate is expected to have strong modeling skills in GIS and ecosystem/land use models such as EPIC or others.
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and their CV, along with a list of at least three references to Dr. Yuan Yao, y.yao@yale.edu. The lab website is https://yao.research.yale.edu/
This position offers a one-year opportunity with a possibility of reappointment for a second year upon satisfactory performance and availability of funding”