About the Role
The Postdoctoral Research Associate will work with the Bioenergy and Biotechnology Laboratory, led by Dr. Stephanie Lansing (https://agnr.umd.edu/about/directory/stephanie-lansing) at the University of Maryland in the Department of Environmental Science & Technology researching food diversion through life cycle assessment (LCA), techno-economic analysis (TEA), and policy analytics. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team that is developing an app for food diversion. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will oversee adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions values for diversion strategies (donation, animal feed, composting, and anaerobic digestion) compared to landfilling of food waste and incorporate economic value to food diversion, including state and local tax incentives and relevant state policies.
This position announcement is for two Postdoctoral Research Associate positions. The first Postdoctoral Research Associate will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team that is developing an app for food diversion and will oversee adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions values for diversion strategies (donation, animal feed, composting, and anaerobic digestion) compared to landfilling of food waste and incorporate economic value to food diversion, including state and local tax incentives and relevant state policies. The second Postdoctoral Research Associate will work with a team on food waste and grass co-digestion at the county-level and oversee a life cycle assessment (LCA) of food waste and yard waste diversion, effect of location, co-digestion ratios, and compare use of biogas between renewable natural gas or hydrogen for transportation.
Responsibilities:
• Develop methods to incorporate greenhouse gas emissions, economic value, and policy into an app.
• Analyze US state and local policies and tax incentives related to food waste diversion.
• Create a searchable database of these polices that can be incorporated into an app.
• Analyze the economic value of food diversion to pantries, composting, and anaerobic digestion.
• Create a searchable database of food recovery cost savings that can be incorporated into an app.
• Create GIS-based maps on food deserts, food insecurity, and food diversion options.
• Develop database techniques to store and pull from large datasets across multiple teams.
• Contribute to monthly, quarterly, and annual report writing and scientific publications.
Minimum Qualifications:
• Background knowledge and experience in life cycle assessments (LCA), economic analyses,
policy, and GIS, including familiarity with SimaPro, OpenLCA, WARM, GREET, or AspenPlus.
• Ph.D. in engineering, chemistry, environmental science, or relevant field with a focus on life cycle
assessments and economic analyses of waste diversion strategies and waste treatment.
• Familiarity with state and local policies in the United States associated with greenhouse gas
emissions, composting, anaerobic digestion, landfills, and food diversion.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, interdisciplinary team environment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including oral presentations at scientific conferences
and written peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Ability to work in-person in Maryland
Physical Demands:
Minimal physical lifting (less than 20 lbs.) in the laboratory and field environment.
Additional Job Details
Required Application Materials:
Interested applicants should prepare a CV, including list of publications, and a TWO page cover letter (single-spaced) that outlines the following:
1) your area of research interest,
2) relevant experience in waste diversion, food policy, LCA, TEA, GIS, SimaPro, OpenLCA, WARM, GREET, or AspenPlus and
3) how you meet each of the qualifications and responsibilities listed in the job description.
Best Consideration Date:
2/14/2025
Salary Range
$53,000.00 to $55,000.00 based on experience.