Research Scholar - Modeling of Energy Transformations | at IIASA

Deadline: until filled

The Integrated Assessment and Climate Change (IACC) Research Group within the Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE) Program at IIASA is looking to recruit a motivated and talented researcher in modeling of energy transformations and their impact on the economy, the environment, and more broadly on sustainable development goals. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team analyzing issues related to national and regional energy transformations in various parts of the world with the aim of producing policy relevant insights and contributing to just and equitable transitions.

For full details on the position, please click here to view the job opening page on the IIASA website >

Background

As one of the world’s leading global Integrated Assessment Modeling (IAM) teams, the ECE program at IIASA conducts research on a wide range of issues related to energy sector transitions in the context of climate change and broader sustainable development challenges. Building upon a long tradition at IIASA going back to its foundation, ECE’s modeling tools stand at the heart of the IIASA IAM framework, exploring linked solutions for energy, food, land, and water. ECE is the developer of the open-source MESSAGEix modeling framework and its extensions, a framework for analyzing energy transitions pathways and polices that can shape those transitions. ECE’s research is at the interface of science, policy, and society, with the purpose of informing international policy efforts, such as those related to the Paris Agreement or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assessing synergies and trade-offs between them.

The Role

The research will focus on modeling energy systems and their interlinkages with the other sectors of the economy, in the context of climate change mitigation and sustainable development. The incumbent will support development of energy tools to downscale global and regional model results/projections across a wide range of scales, from continental and national scales down to city level assessments and apply Geographical Information System (GIS) tools, maps, and other techniques such as machine learning, downscaling and aggregation to analyze data across different temporal and spatial resolutions. The selected candidate will work with a team of passionate and highly skilled modelers to further develop and apply the open source MESSAGEix modeling framework. The selected candidate will collaborate with internal and external partners for conducting energy planning studies in various countries with different potentials and challenges, including different views on sustainable development and contribute to the Modeling of National Transformations theme . With the topic of air quality being an important policy objective in many countries and regions, linking to the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model will be part of the incumbent’s role.

Main tasks and responsibilities

• Contribute to the analysis of energy policies, emission reduction targets, and national energy plans within the context of broader sustainable development goals (including equitable access to modern energy services, mitigating air and water pollution, reducing waste and material use, etc.,).

• Develop new methodologies, models/modules, and innovative model-linkage frameworks for an integrated assessment of energy transformations including emerging challenges/solutions in this field.

• Collaborate with team members to co-develop an open-source integrated assessment modeling framework (MESSAGEix), and apply/adjust the tool to respond to different research questions pertinent to national and regional energy transformations.

• Assist with the linkage of MESSAGEix and the GAINS model to enable assessing air quality and health implications of energy transformation pathways.

• Work with large datasets and Geographical Information System (GIS) tools, maps, and other techniques such as machine learning, downscaling and aggregation to analyze data across different temporal and spatial resolutions.

• Present complex energy issues and modeling insights to a wide range of stakeholders with various backgrounds in a comprehensible and effective manner. Document and publish research outcomes in the form of policy briefs, technical reports, scientific articles, etc.,.

• Communicate and co-develop energy planning models and studies together with other researchers and external collaborators from different countries with various levels of expertise in energy system modeling. Contribute to capacity building, training, knowledge sharing and dissemination activities through both online and physical platforms.

• Contribute to ongoing and future projects, participate in proposal writing and fundraising initiatives, and coordinate administration of relevant projects.

For full details on the position, please click here to view the job opening page on the IIASA website >