PhD position for research in transformative knowledge to accelerate change for biodiversity

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 42,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

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For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.  

We have a vacancy for a PhD candidate in the Industrial Ecology Programme (IndEcol) at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering.
The appointment has a duration of three years with an anticipated start date in January 2023. The appointment is financed through the Horizon Europe project “Coproduced transformative knowledge to accelerate change for biodiversity” (RAINFOREST).

RAINFOREST is a project with partners in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Peru, and Brazil. The project aims to contribute to halting and reversing biodiversity loss caused by our global good and biomass production systems. This requires upscaling and accelerating transformative change of these systems, including addressing the nexus of agricultural production, processing and transport, retailing, consumer preferences and diets, as well as investment, climate action and ecosystem conservation and restoration. RAINFOREST will use a novel combination of integrated assessment modeling, input-output modeling and life cycle assessment, based on case studies in various stages of the nexus, at different spatial scales and organizational levels. The aim is to also elucidate leverage points, impacts, and obstacles for transformative change and provide concrete and actionable recommendations for transformative change for consumers, producers, investors, and policymakers.

The focus of this PhD is the development of a model toolbox for quantifying biodiversity impacts, using both life cycle assessment (e.g. LC-IMPACT ) and input-output models (EXIOBASE ). The project includes collaboration with the Radboud University in the Netherlands, IIASA in Austria, and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, among others.

IndEcol is a pioneer in the development and application of industrial ecology methods, as well as the use of large data sets and scientific computing in industrial ecology. We focus on understanding resource use and environmental pollution associated with human activities, assessing the environmental aspects of different technologies and modeling society’s use of materials. IndEcol combines world-class competence in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Input-Output analysis (I/O), and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) with scientists’ contribution to IPCC assessment reports, the International Resource Panel, active participation to the UNEP/SETAC Life-Cycle Initiative, and numerous publications featured in high-ranked journals. IndEcol hosts its own International MSc program and contributes to NTNU’s engineering education- The research team consisting of eight faculty members, the Industrial Ecology Digital Laboratory , and about 70 researchers, post.docs and PhDs.

The Head of Department is Professor Terese Løvås. The position’s supervisor is Professor Francesca Verones, the co-supervisor is Professor Edgar Hertwich.