Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis, Cockrell School of Engineering

University of Texas at Austin • Austin, TX

19h • Onsite

About The Position

As a top-10 engineering school with the No. 1 program in Texas, the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has been a global leader in technology innovation and engineering education for over a century. The candidate will join a growing group of interdisciplinary experts in energy systems, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy policy within the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis (CEESA). CEESA operates across multiple engineering departments at UT Austin and routinely collaborates with stakeholders in government agencies, industry, and non-profit organizations. The Postdoctoral Fellow will conduct research on developing physics-informed models of the gas-electric interconnection network with applications in voluntary carbon markets, risk assessments, and energy transition planning under the supervision of Dr. Arvind Ravikumar. The recent National Petroleum Council report on Gas-Electric Coordination highlighted the critical importance of understanding the interconnecting dependencies between the natural gas system and the electric grid. Yet, a physical model that tracks the flow of natural gas from production regions to power plants does not exist. Such a physical model, if developed, could unlock a range of new applications in energy system research including traceability of carbon intensity of delivered gas, quantitative risk assessments associated with gas grid disruptions, and long-term planning to repurpose natural gas pipelines to carry carbon dioxide or hydrogen. The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for developing the model and illustrating its use across several application areas. This position will initially focus on developing a gas-electric integration model for the Western US, followed by an expansion to other regions. The position is expected to continue for 1 year from the start of employment, contingent on funding.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Energy System Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Atmospheric Sciences or a closely related field received within the last three years.
• Demonstrated research experience in energy system modeling, greenhouse gas emission inventories, or engineering-based risk assessment models.

Nice To Haves

• Strong track record of peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Demonstrated experience in communicating technical information to varied audiences in industry, government, and non-profit organizations.
• Experience mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in research.
• Ability to work collaboratively with other research staff, post-doctoral scholars.

Responsibilities

• Develop a physics-informed model of integration of the natural gas pipeline system and electric power generation units in the US to probe interdependencies of the gas system and the electric system
• Use the gas-electric integration model to answer questions related to low-emissions gas certification, risk assessments in the electric system, and re-purposing pipelines to lower carbon solutions including CO2 transport
• Leading peer-reviewed manuscripts, white papers, and project reports summarizing the findings of the research

Benefits

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Optional Retirement Program (ORP)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees