One of the major challenges in the assessment of new technologies is that environmental impacts identified for laboratory and in pilot installations are unlikely to be good representations of industrial scale implementation.
 
As a PhD candidate or postdoctoral researcher you will work on the project 'Environmental Footprints of New Technologies’, a collaborative project between the Department of Environmental Science and TNO. The aim of this project is to better understand the changes in environmental impacts due to technology development. Topics to be covered are the quantification of environmental changes due to size scaling as well as technological learning, and new developments in alternative technologies and the background economy. The project is funded by the Dutch organisation for applied research (TNO) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

You should hold an MSc (PhD position) or PhD (Postdoc position) degree in one of the environmental, natural or engineering sciences. Experience with environmental modelling is preferred. Important selection criteria are: strong commitment, analytical skills, modelling skills, and communication skills (especially a good command of written English).

• employment: 1.0 FTE
• Phd position: the gross starting salary amounts to €2,266 per month based on full-time employment, and will increase to €2,897 in the fourth year (P scale). Postdoc position: a maximum gross monthly salary of €4,166 based on a 38-hour working week (scale 10).
• in addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• PhD position: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years. Postdoc position: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 1.5 years.
• you will be classified as a PhD Candidate or Postdoctoral Researcher in the Dutch university job-ranking system (UFO)
• you will be able to make use of our Dual Career Service where our Dual Career Officer will assist with family related support, such as child care, and help your partner prepare for the local labour market and with finding an occupation

Are you interested in our excellent employment conditions?

Faculty of Science
Faculty of Science – Department of Environmental Science (RU)
You will be appointed at the Department of Environmental Science, which is embedded in the Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science. The main focus of the Environmental Science group is on quantifying, understanding and predicting human impacts on the environment. To that end, we employ a variety of research methods, including process-based modelling, meta-analyses, field studies and lab work. In our research we cover multiple stressors, species and spatial scales, searching for overarching principles that can ultimately be applied to better underpin environmental management and biodiversity conservation.
 
Department of Climate, Air and Sustainability (TNO)
TNO offers solutions for questions on Climate, Air and Sustainability (CAS) in a context of economical, societal and technological developments and trends in energy supply, industrial production and mobility. The biggest challenge is to prevent side effects on different time scales and geographical scales. TNO has a strong knowledge on technological processes. Monitoring of emissions and air quality are crucial to recognise trends. CAS is able to quantify environmental pressures on production processes and product chains from cradle to grave and compare different options. CAS advises companies on strategic sustainable and circularity choices and helps to detect environmental risks.
 
Further information on Environmental Science
Further information on Department of Climate, Air and Sustainability (TNO)