event 09 feb. 2017

Funded PhD Scholarship // Water-Energy Nexus at the NUI Galway/Ireland

The links between energy usage and water are not clearly understood or recognised and thus water consumption is not considered as being intertwined with energy/electricity usage. Additionally, the water footprint of energy/electricity production is not usually considered, even though water is a scarce resource in many places. This project will firstly identify the water related electricity use at different spatial scales to define the “electricity footprint” of water use. On the other side, whole life-cycle connections between water and energy will be defined, and the “water footprint” of electricity production modelled.

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The next step will be to develop a holistic model to simulate the nature of water-energy nexus in various climate change and anthropogenic pressure scenarios. This will underpin the research to investigate the social and environmental impacts of changes to the nature of the nexus in the future. The outcome of this research is expected to be a decision support framework based on simulation models to quantify and analyse the trade-offs associated with the nexus under various scenarios. The developed framework may ideally be applied to a case study area to prove its versatility. Additionally, this research is expected to have positive societal impacts through identification and promotion of sustainable practices for water and energy use. Key components of this will include stakeholder engagement, and consideration of climate change and energy and water supply security.

About the research

Energy Systems Integration Partnership Program (ESIPP - http://www.esipp.ie/) is an €11 million capacity building project co-funded by Science Foundation Ireland, industry and philanthropic donation. Energy systems have evolved over decades from individual energy devices and small sub- systems, into a complex set of systems, both physical (e.g. electricity grids, gas networks, etc.), institutional (e.g. regulatory and economic) and at all scales (e.g. from individual buildings to continental scale). These systems are increasingly integrated physically (e.g. combined heat and power and electric vehicles), institutionally (e.g. gas/electricity markets), across scales (e.g. demand side management in power grids) and across various sectors (water production and supply). Energy Systems Integration (ESI) is focussed on the interfaces between these systems where there are new challenges and opportunities requiring research, demonstration and deployment to reap the commercial and societal benefits. The researchers will join a highly dynamic, international research cluster performing leading edge research on sustainable infrastructure, water and wastewater engineering and infrastructure modelling. The research team, affiliated with IRUSE, the Ryan Institute of Environment, Marine and Energy, has strong connections with leading industry and academic institutions across Europe and around the world and performs research in areas that include: Water supply, water and wastewater treatment
  • Energy systems engineering;
  • Systems integration and optimisation;
  • Development of novel, sustainable environmental technologies;
  • Social and economic aspects of energy and water systems, water-energy nexus;
  • Environmental life cycle assessment
Further information can be found at these links:
  • https://www.nuigalway.ie/engineering-informatics/civil-engineering/
  • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eoghan_Clifford; https://www.nuigalway.ie/ryaninstitute/
  • http://www.iruse.ie/
The researcher will primarily be based at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) and will work with colleagues in school of business at University College Dublin (UCD) and the mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Dublin City University (DCU) as part of this project.

Stipend

€ 18,000 per annum & fees for 4 years.

Entry Requirements

The candidate is expected to possess strong engineering and analytical skills in order to develop the model framework. Applicants from a variety of engineering backgrounds will be considered for this position. Key criteria are as follows:
  1. A minimum honours bachelor’s degree in Civil, Environmental, Mechanical or Energy Systems Engineering (Level 8 honours degree or higher;
  2. Applicants should have a strong background in statistical modelling and data analysis;
  3. Programming and knowledge in numerical tools;
  4. Strong communication and technical writing skill;
  5. Aptitude for taking initiative and working independently;
  6. Fluency in both written and spoken English.

Expected start date

March 2017

How to apply

Applicants should send a covering letter detailing why they believe they would be suitable for the position being applied for, a detailed CV and the names and addresses of at least three referees via e-mail (in Word or PDF format only) to: Dr. Sudeep Nair sudeep.nairnuigalway.ie. Applicants must put NUIG/ESIPP-PhD in the subject line of e-mail application. Informal inquiries can be made to Dr. Sudeep Nair.

Deadline

17 February 2017

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