PhD Candidate in biodiversity impact assessment development

This is NTNU<p>NTNU is a broad-based university with a&nbsp;technical-scientific profile and a focus&nbsp;in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.</p><p>At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.</p><p>You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/vacancies/" rel="nofollow">here.</a></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>Video: <a href="https://youtu.be/Xt-yHCN5QS0" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/Xt-yHCN5QS0</a>About the position<p>Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/ept" rel="nofollow">Department of Energy and Process Engineering</a>, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a career in research within and beyond academia. The PhD candidate will contribute to furthering the development of key ecological impact models within the field of life cycle assessment.</p><p>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 and IPBES assessment reports, the International Resource Panel, active participation to the Life-Cycle Initiative hosted by UN Environment, 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 doctors and PhD students. More information can be found at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/indecol" rel="nofollow">https://www.ntnu.edu/indecol</a></p><p>Your immediate leader will be Professor Francesca Verones.</p><br>About the project<p>Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) has seen a tremendous development in the last decades, both in terms of impact coverage and model complexity. However, there are still some impacts that remain uncovered and details to existing impact categories can be continuously added. This PhD position aims to investigate a new impact pathway that is so far uncovered, namely the impact of particulate matter emissions on (plant and/or animal) species diversity.&nbsp;</p><p>In addition, insects, even though tremendously important for functioning ecosystems, are so far not included in existing impact categories. This project aims to include insects into one or several of the existing and relevant impact categories, such as land occupation or climate change.</p><br>Duties of the position<ul><li>Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate</li><li>Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above</li><li>At least 3 academic publications, and popular science dissemination related to the research topics described above</li><li>Participate actively in the LCIA research group, as well as in the larger Industrial Ecology Programme&nbsp;</li><li>Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions</li><li>Teaching assistant for 25% over the duration of four years. Exact courses are to be discussed, but can include TEP4220 and TEP4223</li></ul><p>Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.</p><br>Required selection criteria<ul><li>You must have a relevant Master's degree in ecology, industrial ecology, environmental engineering, biology or equivalent. Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level. Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position</li><li>You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to&nbsp;<a href="https://i.ntnu.no/wiki/-/wiki/English/Grading+scale" rel="nofollow">NTNU's grading scale</a>. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.</li><li>You must meet the requirements for admission to <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phiv" rel="nofollow">the faculty's Doctoral Programme</a></li><li>Motivation to get proficient in Python</li><li>Interest in sustainability science and strong incentive to learn Industrial Ecology methods, especially LCA analysis.</li><li>Proven analytical and computational capabilities, in courses and or/thesis deliverables&nbsp;</li><li>Proven written and oral English communication skills<br>&nbsp;</li></ul><p><strong>PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.</strong></p><p>The appointment is to be made in accordance with&nbsp;<a href="https://i.ntnu.no/wiki/-/wiki/English/NTNUs+guidelines+for+recruitment+positions+" rel="nofollow">NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions</a> for general criteria for the position.</p><br>Preferred selection criteria<ul><li>Completed courses in life cycle assessment and life cycle impact assessment&nbsp;</li><li>Experience in geographical information systems (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS or within Python, R)&nbsp;</li><li>Documented competence in using the Python scientific computing stack (Numpy, Pandas, Jupyter Notebooks) or of another programming language used for environmental data analysis&nbsp;</li><li>Experience as student assistant or tutor</li><li>Experience with data visualization</li><li>Good oral and written presentation skills in Norwegian/Scandinavian equivalent level&nbsp;</li></ul><br>Personal characteristics<p>To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and dedicated</li><li>Motivated to solve environmental problems and advance sustainability</li><li>Ambitious and goal-oriented</li><li>Team player</li><li>Excellent communication skills</li></ul><p>Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.</p><br>We offer<ul><li>An exciting job with an important&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/vision-values-mission" rel="nofollow">mission</a> in society</li><li>Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment</li><li>Career guidance and&nbsp;<a href="https://i.ntnu.no/wiki/-/wiki/English/Follow-up+during+the+PhD+period" rel="nofollow">follow-up during the PhD period</a></li><li>Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues</li><li><a href="https://i.ntnu.no/wiki/-/wiki/English/Mentor+programme" rel="nofollow">Mentor programme</a> as a&nbsp;<a href="https://i.ntnu.no/ny-ved-ntnu" rel="nofollow">new employee at NTNU</a></li><li>Favorable terms as a member of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.spk.no/en/membership-in-spk/" rel="nofollow">Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)</a> &nbsp;</li><li>Free Norwegian language training at a basic level <a href="https://prove.hkdir.no/en/language-levels" rel="nofollow">(A2)</a></li></ul><p>As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/positions/employee-benefits" rel="nofollow">employee benefits</a>.</p><br>Diversity<p>Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that mak