About the position

The Industrial Ecology Program (IndEcol) in the Department of Energy and Process Engineering is seeking a Researcher or Postdoctoral Fellow with competence in macro-level environmental-economic modelling.

The Department`s intention is to appoint a candidate to a Postdoctoral Fellow position for a period of 2 years. If the best qualified candidate has already undertaken a Postdoctoral Fellow position at NTNU they will not be permitted by law to take up a second such position at NTNU. As such they will be offered this vacancy as a Researcher position which has funding for 2 years.

The Industrial Ecology Program (IndEcol) is an interdisciplinary research and teaching program managing its own International MSc program. IndEcol is well recognized for its work in the areas of life-cycle assessment, material flow analysis, and the use of input-output analysis for environmental assessments, as evidenced by numerous publications and international prizes.

The Industrial Ecology Program is well integrated in the international research community through the participation in EU projects and the participation in professional societies such as the International Society for Industrial Ecology and International Input-Output Association working groups. Key faculty members currently serve as lead authors of the IPCC. There is a long tradition in IndEcol of working on fundamental model development, in addition to having industrial and policy applications through case studies and tool development. The current position offered is seeking to further advance this model development and integration.

The Head of Department is Professor Terese Løvås. The position`s supervision is by Professor Anders Hammer Strømman. The co-supervisor is Professor Richard Wood.

Main duties and responsibilities

The project work for the position relates to the EU H2020 project NAVIGATE. NAVIGATE is principally an Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) project that looks to improve the state of the art in IAM by considering, amongst others, a better understanding of the material side of the economy, of structural change, and consumer preferences. The project is a collaborative project lead by Potsdam Institute for Climate.

The main task of the Researcher or Postdoctoral Fellow is associated with the development and refinement of scenario modelling in relation to existing economic and technological models, currently based on input-output (IO) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) approaches. The scenario modelling involves adding dynamics to existing IO and life-cycle inventory work in order to add a forward-looking perspective to the models. The work will build on a range of existing approaches and data previously developed at IndEcol, published in a range of journals, up to and including PNAS. The work involves significant amount of model coupling, both between IO and LCA based models, as well as to the IAM efforts within the broader project. The main outcomes of the work will be a much better understanding of the changes in consumption and technology required (focusing on material intensive sectors) in relation to different socio-economic pathways (in line with varying levels of ambition of climate policy). There should be an opportunity to publish in high-impact and field specific journals (and publication throughout the period of employment is expected), as well as to collaborate with leading experts in the field.

Qualification requirements

• Completion of a Norwegian doctoral degree in a relevant field (see below) or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree
• Completion of a PhD using general equilibrium or other macro-economic/econometric approaches, IAM, IO or advanced LCA approaches (e.g. stock-cohort), although we do not discount top-candidates from other fields (for example, mathematics) with a strong programming background
• A strong modelling background and evidence of quality applied output
• Show the ability to undertake advanced modelling exercises that span environmental, economic and technological considerations at the macro-level
• We require the candidate to have an exposure to “systems thinking”
• Ablity to handle large amounts of data and to program in Python and/or Matlab
• Demonstrate competence in writing scientific journal articles
• Good written and oral English and Norwegian language skills

Desired qualifications 

• Evidence of fast programming skills and clean reproducible code
• Some background in Operations Research (and use of GAMS)

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability, as well as motivation, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in the advertisement.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

Postdoctoral candidates are remunerated in code 1352, and are normally remunerated from NOK 523 200 per annum before tax. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The gross salary for the position of Researcher (code 1109) is normally remunerated from NOK 523 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

General information

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. The national labour force must reflect the composition of the population to the greatest possible extent. NTNU aims to increase the proportion of women in its scientific posts. Women are encouraged to apply.

Under the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova), information about the applicant may be made public even if the applicant has requested not to have their name entered on the list of applicants.

About the application:

Further information on the positions can be obtained from Professor Anders Hammer Strømman (anders.hammer.stromman@ntnu.no) or Professor Richard Wood (richard.wood@ntnu.no).

Publications and other academic works that the applicant would like to be considered in the evaluation must accompany the application. Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify the individual applicant's contribution to joint works, the applicant must include a brief description of his or her contribution.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. It is necessary to include a Diploma Supplement with European Masters Diplomas from outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI).

Applicants invited for interview must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number IV-210/19 when applying.

Application deadline: 06.09.2019

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Energy and Process Engineering

We conduct research and teaching covering the entire energy chain, from resources to the end-user. We look at how energy is produced and used by humans and machines in a sustainable way with regard to health, climate change and the resource base. The Department of Energy and Process Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.