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

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

The Postdoctoral Fellow 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 operators across multiple engineering departments at UT Austin and routinely collaborate with stakeholders in government agencies, industry, and non-profit organizations. This is a temporary training position that may be renewed annually, for a maximum of five years, based upon performance review, progress towards research goals, and continuation of funding.

Position Purpose

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 do 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 Southeast US, followed by an expansion to other regions.

Responsibilities

• Model Development: 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
• Case Studies and Application Areas: 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
• Writing and Documentation: Leading peer-reviewed manuscripts, white papers, and project reports summarizing the findings of the research
• Performs other related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• 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

Preferred Qualifications

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

Salary Range

$63,573 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• Repetitive use of keyboard at workstation
• Repetitive use of standard office equipment
• Limited travel (2-3 trips per year to conferences and other meetings)

Required Materials

• CV that includes a full publication record
• Letter of interest
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Up to 2 relevant publications (peer-reviewed or pre-prints)