The expertise of the Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory on Sustainable Engineering and Ecodesign (LIRIDE) focuses on life cycle impact assessment. Internationally recognized for its scientific research, LIRIDE supports industry, SMEs, and organizations in their commitment to true sustainable development supported by life cycle assessment and the circular economy. Located at the University of Sherbrooke (Canada), LIRIDE is seeking applications for the following position.
About the role
Project title: Development of biogenic carbon life cycle inventory for long-lived harvested wood building products.
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This PhD project is part of the first major initiative of the Canadian Wood Construction Research Network (CWCRN) that promotes academic research on wood construction in Canada. This initiative aims to train over 50 HQP supervised by a team of experts consisting of 31 faculty members from 14 Canadian universities and another 20 scientists and professionals from 12 government and industry partners. LIRIDE's expertise will contribute to developing and clarifying knowledge relating to the life-cycle environmental benefits of wood construction.
This research project will focus on the initial requirements for establishing high spatial/temporal resolution forest biogenic carbon dynamic datasets at both stand- and landscape-level resolution that could be utilized for LCI dataset development of key forest management scenarios specific to major forest regions across Canada. To accomplish this, there is a need to further develop at the operational scale the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBMCFS3). CBM-CFS3 is an aspatial, stand- and landscape-level modelling framework that simulates the dynamics of all forest carbon stocks in Canada. It is capable of quantifying the carbon contributions for different archetypes of forest management, which in turn can be compiled in a LCI database. Interoperability with commonly used databases for LCA, such as ecoinvent, will be facilitated through the development of an algorithm and workflow for generating the life cycle impacts of the production of long-lived harvested wood products.
Qualifications
Your qualifications should include:
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A master's level university degree in civil, building, mechanical, environmental engineering or similar studies with excellent grades.
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A strong interest in modeling would be an important advantage
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Your admission will be subject to the standard rules of the University of Sherbrooke (funding assured for the entire duration of the PhD project). The project will start as soon as possible or upon mutual agreement.
You are expected to contribute to teaching and research activities of the laboratory up to a maximum of 20% of your working time.
Daily work
The work will be carried out within an interdisciplinary team of LIRIDE, in close collaboration with the various stakeholders in the initiative. The team will consist of one master’s student, three PhD students and researchers. In addition, an integral part of your work is to publish your results in peer-reviewed journals and present them at international conferences.
Admission
We look forward to receiving your online application including :
Resume
Credentials
Cover letter
Two references
We will begin interviewing candidates as soon as a sufficient number of applications are received.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.