[https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0BxzZjIM_afE3c3RadEN2TjU2NzQ&revid=0BxzZjIM_afE3ZVZ6WXVGTWFQRldOSFNJQjYwVmZPMittVTVNPQ]
University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada
Up to 3 PhD students are sought to work in the areas of climate and
environmental policy, decision making under (deep) uncertainty, and/or complex
socio-technical (or socio-ecological) systems at the University of Waterloo in
Ontario, Canada. This work is in support of methodological research on
anticipating low-probability, high-impact events supported by the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council. There is flexibility on the home
department depending on interests and experience (students can earn their PhD
in Systems Design Engineering or an appropriate department in the Faculty of
Environment). Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as women, are
especially encouraged to apply.
Complex systems, whether engineered or natural, function at multiple levels and
have many moving parts. Within such systems, there are multiple opportunities
for things to ‘go wrong’ – potentially simultaneously. Such scenarios of
‘perfect storms’ have low likelihood according to probability theory; however,
internal feedback mechanisms in complex systems may encourage cascading
failures, making perfect storms more frequent than probabilities suggest. In
this methodological research program, system theoretic approaches will be
developed and applied to anticipate responses of socio-technical or
socio-ecological systems to environmental and socio-economic stressors.
Potential application areas include energy planning, environmental management,
water management, and related topics.
Students will use methods for quantitative policy analysis (e.g. benefit-cost
analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis) and complex systems (e.g. Bayesian
networks, cross-impact balances) to advance analytical techniques for risk and
policy analysis. The Faculty of Environment, as well as the Department of
Systems Design Engineering, provide vibrant environments for interdisciplinary
learning, teaching, and research.
Students with quantitative backgrounds (mathematics, physics, engineering,
information science, computational social science) are especially desired.
Desirable backgrounds also include environmental studies or geography. Students
should have an interest in interdisciplinary research with strong analytical
skills (quantitative and/or qualitative, depending on the position) and an
interest in mixed methods. Students should have strong writing skills and the
ability to work independently or collaboratively.
Students would be expected to start in the fall of 2018. Before completing an
application for PhD study at the University of Waterloo, expressions of
interest should be sent to Dr. Vanessa Schweizer
(vschweiz@xxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:vschweiz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>).
--
Vanessa Schweizer
Assistant Professor
Department of Knowledge Integration, Faculty of Environment
University of Waterloo
200 University Ave W | Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 |
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P 519-888-4567<tel:519-888-4567> x 35106
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