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Post Doctorat position at University of Technology of Troyes.

Title: Post-doctorat on Design for Environment and Life Cycle Assessment

Department: The candidate will be integrated into the CREIDD (Centre for Research in Interdisciplinary Studies in Sustainable Development)

Position: Post-Doctorat

Contract work: Employee of the university for 12 months

Begin of the contract: June 2012

Partners

-      UTT

-      ITECH

-      INSA Lyon

-      Renault Trucks SAS

-      PSA

-      Plastic Omnium Auto Exterior

-      SAMES

-      Bollig & Kemper

Research:

The candidate will be part of the Centre of Research and Interdisciplinary Studies on Sustainable Development (CREIDD), which is part of the Charles Delaunay Institute. The candidate will work PURE (Peinture aUtomobile Respectant l’Environnement) project.

The project aims to build a network of research and exchange between companies and universities in the region to develop and industrialize new ways of painting parts for the automotive industry.

The axes of work are mainly oriented lines or innovative application processes more environmentally friendly, more competitive and lower energy consumption.

The candidate will check different technologies and will evaluate the environmental impacts of each technology. It will be necessary to use Life Cycle Assessment principle to assess different coatings. Knowledge in surface treatment will be necessary and in LCA software (Simapro, GABI,…)

Application Procedure: Applicants should send a complete curriculum vitae and cover letter to Tatiana REYES and Bertrand LARATTE: Tatiana.reyes "at" utt.fr and Bertrand.laratte "at" utt.fr

Tatiana REYES

Bertrand LARATTE

Université de technologie de Troyes

12 rue Marie Curie

– BP 2060 –

10 010 Troyes Cedex

Press Release

A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment conducted at RMIT University is behind the launch this month of Nestlé Oceania's new NESCAFÉ Gold SMART Pack – an alternative coffee packaging that offers consumers a simple way to reduce their impact on the environment.

A PhD position, in developing methods for assessing the Life Cycle Impacts of wood-based products, is available at the Environmental System Design Group at ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

The Environmental Systems Design Group is an internationally recognized and leading research group  offering a cooperative and inspiring working environment. The group (part of Institute of Environmental Engineering) conducts research on modeling, analyzing and assessing the environmental performance of products and processes, new technologies and consumption patterns.

The PhD position involves participation in the SNF research project “Life Cycle Management of wood in Switzerland: methods, tools and environmental decision support” (NFP 66 Wood; www.nfp66.ch/E/). The overall project aims to develop an environmental decision-support method and analysis tool to assess the optimal use of wood as a resource including cascading. In order to do a proper environmental assessment, the LCA methodology shall be improved to include environmental impacts specific to the wood value chain.

The Ph.D. thesis deals with the development of Life Cycle Impact Assessment methods for assessing biodiversity related to forest-management practices, as well as for toxicity effects from chemical treatment of wood and emissions of wood combustion. Regional specificity shall be considered in these methods. The final methods will be integrated into an overall model in order to build up sustainable wood-management scenarios and give recommendations to policy makers and industry. Employment will be according to standard regulations at ETH (funding secured for 3 years). The project starts during the first half of 2012 or later upon mutual agreement.

Suitable candidates should hold a master level degree in environmental sciences, natural sciences or similar studies with excellent grades. Experience with environmental assessment methods and tools, such as LCA, and knowledge of forestry is appreciated.

For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hellweg, Institute of Environmental Sciences, by e-mail: stefanie.hellweg "AT" ifu.baug.ethz.ch (no applications).

Applicants should apply online by sending a Curriculum Vitae and a statement of research interest to: ETH Zurich, Mr. Hans-Peter Widmer, Human Resources, 8092 Zurich (widmer AT hr.ethz.ch).

 2:00 PM, 1040 Dana Building, Erb Institute, University of Michigan

U.S. Consumption & Asian Pollution? Revealing the Connection through LCA and Environmental Modeling
What fraction of the particulate impacts in China are due to consumption of products consumed in US? How relevant is our direct exposure as consumers during product use? While addressing these practical questions, this presentation will illustrate cutting-edge developments in Life Cycle Impact Assessment and environmental modeling applying the KICS (Keep It Cleverly Simple) approach.

Dr Olivier Jolliet is a Professor in Impact and Risk Modeling at the School of Public Health of the University of Michigan.

2 PhD Stipends, Local Sustainability and the Physical Environment

1 PhD Stipend, Faculty for Social Sciences and Technology Management

1 PhD Stipend, Faculty for Engineering Sciences and Technology

The research projects of the PhD candidates focus on how significant reductions in environmental impacts and resource use can be achieved through changes in infrastructure and durable goods that form the local physical environment within which the daily live of inhabitant happens. The two PhD stipends are connected to NTNU’s successful Industrial Ecology Program (IndEcol) and are expected to contribute to and make use of the growing body of work at IndEcol.

Following list of departments is relevant:

SVT 967 Social Sciences and Technology Management:

• Economics
• Industrial Economics and Technology Management
• Political Science
• Psychology

IVT 72/11Engineering Sciences and Technology position:

• Building and Transport Engineering
• Energy and Process Engineering
• Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering
• Product Design

For further information on IVT 72/11, please contact: Ottar Michelsen, telephone +47 73 59 87 19, e-mail: ottar.michelsen@ntnu.no

For further information on SVT 967, please contact: Lucie Kathrine Sunde-Eidem, telephone +47 73 59 04 88, e-mail: Lucie.Eidem@svt.ntnu.no

"When considering how cars and trucks generate such a large part of the world's greenhouse gas pollution, it's easy to overlook what lies beneath them. But under all that traffic, there are roads. And the paving material itself-the asphalt, concrete, and rock-and how it is placed, have an important impact on the atmosphere"  reports Marianne Lavelle of National Geographic News 

The article reports that John Harvey, principal investigator at the University of California's Pavement Research Center, says that "asphalt versus concrete" is the wrong way of looking at the environmental questions around pavement.  More than 90 percent of pavement is rock, no matter what kind of glue holds it together. One needs  to "keep remembering that rock is the primary ingredient, so there's tremendous energy that goes into the mining, crushing, and hauling of rock in the materials production phase" of a roadway. The UC center, housed at both Berkeley and Davis, is working on developing a framework and models to help government officials make better decisions about roadways, taking into account the entire lifecycle of these long-lived civil engineering projects.

The full article can be found at the National Geographic website here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/10/111017-asphalt-concrete-road-building-energy/

Dr. Edward Frank, Advanced Biofuels Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory, will be speaking at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center seminar series.  The seminar takes place on November 2nd at 12:00-1:00PM  at Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, One E. Hazelwood Dr., Champaign, IL 61820.

Abstract: Researchers around the world are developing sustainable plant-based liquid transportation fuels (biofuels) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce petroleum consumption. Algae are attractive because they promise large yields per acre compared to grasses, grains, and trees. Algae thus mitigate potentially large land-use change effects associated with other crops. Algae produce oils that can be converted to diesel and gasoline equivalents in current refineries while other biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel require expensive production and distribution infrastructure modifications as well as vehicle changes. It takes considerable energy to produce algal biofuels with current technology and an outstanding question is how much energy and greenhouse gas benefits algal biofuels can provide compared to petroleum fuels when one considers the critical supply-chain stages in the fuel pathway. This is challenging because of technology uncertainties; thus, previous algal biofuel studies on energy and emission effects show diverse results. Argonne National Laboratory released a detailed study that identified key parameters that affect answers to this question. The study concluded that with a baseline scenario, GHG emission reductions for algae-based fuels are affected by a few critical factors such as energy use for water movement, algal oil extraction, and treatment of algae biomass residues. In particular, the study concluded that the anaerobic digestion process that is commonly used in algal biofuel models has the potential to produce substantial greenhouse gas emissions and that alternative scenarios, e.g., catalytic hydrothermal gasification, may avoid these emissions. The work produced and utilized an expanded version of Argonne's GREET model for modeling energy consumption and emissions in transportation systems. The work was supported by the Office of Biomass Program within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy.

This seminar will be videotaped and archived for later viewing on the ISTC website www.istc.illinois.edu.

Harvard Co-hosting Life Cycle Analysis of Metals Symposium – October 31-November 2