Postdoc: Micro–Macro Modelling of Circular Society Transitions

Help to accelerate the transition to a circular Netherlands by co-creating and designing an agent-based model of the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam (MRA).

The world is facing many ecological and political challenges, many of them rooted in the linear, extractive systems of resource use in present-day society. As a result, these challenges throw up many questions about the future of society and cities. One widely agreed-upon necessity is the transition to a circular society, a society that is not extractive but that systematically reuses its resources. In this PostDoc, you will contribute to visions of a circular future, particularly in an urban context.

Our multi-disciplinary NWA project ‘Accelerating the Circular Transition’ (ACT!) develops a systemic approach to accelerate the fair transition to a circular society in The Netherlands (and beyond). It will co-create an integrated approach to manage this complex transition, building a toolbox of shared visions of and for a circular society with societal well-being at its centre. For this, the consortium consists of a large variety of scientific researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds, as well as stakeholders from all parts of Dutch society, including (national, regional and local) government, industry, and local NGO’s. Transitioning to a circular society poses trade-offs: creating new jobs while potentially eliminating others, enhancing wellbeing but reducing demand. Products as a service (PaaS) may boost resource efficiency but concentrate value in platforms. This demands comprehensive modelling. Global CGE models based on an IO core with environmental and social extensions.

Your main contribitoin will be in the co-developing of a toolset (aim of WP2 of the project) to simulate a circular society and the transition to it, in particular focussing on the spatial distributions of the impact of the transition. These tools wil be used to evaluate pathways (as developed in WP3 and WP4 of the project) and monitor the transition and its impacts on key wellbeing and environmental impact indicators in the Netherlands in general and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region more specifically.

Together with reaserchers from Wageningen University, Leiden University and Tilburg University, you will work on integrating their findings from the (static) circular LCAs, stock-flow MFA information and the environmental-economic metabolism in specific geographical areas such as Amsterdam with information on shifts in value-capturing potential when shifting to circular systems. This will provide novel insights into feedbacks, demand and supply balances and incentives for consumers and firms.

Your duties and responsibilities include :

• Develop novel simulation model (extensions) for circularity transitions
• Investigate the systemic effects (across space) of different demand and supply decisions in the context of circular economy/society
• Collaborate in an interdisciplinary team and explore different methodological approaches
• Publish in peer-reviewed journals and present findings at international conferences
• Interact with micro-modellers in collecting primary and secondary data to connect their Agent-based model to the macro models.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Urban Economics, which is led by Prof. Eveline van Leeuwen. You will be co-supervised by Francesca Rubiconto (UEC). Furthermore, you will be connected to the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS), which is an important entry point for data and models in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam.

Postdoc: The renewable energy transition on farms

In the context of renewable energy production at the farm level, new innovations such as the production of electricity via agrivoltaics or through bio-methanation are practices with realistic and practical potential.

In the agricultural sector, the transition to more sustainable systems requires innovations and practices that enhance environmental conditions whilst improving the economic revenue of the farm. In the EU H2020 Value4Farm project (value4farm – Sustainable renewable energy value chains for answering farmers’ needs), an Audit tool will be developed for supporting and assisting farmers to select and take the best decisions about establishing and upscaling renewable energy production on their farms.

Building on the 3 pillars of sustainability, this Audit tool will help a farmer to evaluate the actual farm potential for renewable energy and provide insights into the key considerations requiring consideration for on-farm renewable energy production.

The audit tool will help a farmer to explore the possibility of producing electricity by implementing agrivoltaics, or via the production of biogas. This solution-oriented tool will have both qualitative and quantitative components, requiring the user to reflect on their own farm situation to provide an assessment for the production of renewable energy.

The Postdoc will help in the development and testing of the audit tool, working closely with an international team from the VALUE4FARM project.

The Postdoc will combine theoretical knowledge with qualitative and quantitative analysis, supported by wider team members. Alongside scientific social research, and multicriteria analysis, the postdoc will collaborate with partners to identify operational needs and elaborate the prototype of the audit tool.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• The co-development and testing of the audit tool
• Social and economic analysis of the implementation of the Audit tool

Your team
You will work with an international team from the VALUE4FARM project. Weekly meetings will take place with local partners of the project, and monthly meetings (mainly online) will be performed with partners abroad.

Postdoc Microbiological and chemical arsenic recovery from drinking water sludge

This postdoc position is part of the European research project “From Contaminant to Commodity (C2C): Toward a Circular Economy for Arsenic in Groundwater” involving partners in Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden. The overarching project goal is contribute to an improved management of arsenic-rich residues from the arsenic removal from drinking water and to establish procedures for the effective recovery and valorization of arsenic as critical raw material. In collaboration with project partners, the postdoctoral researcher will

• develop chemical and biological methods for arsenic extraction from arsenic-loaded sludge,
• identify suitable arsenic extraction or separation steps based on arsenic-loaded sludge structural properties and
• have the leading role in the exploitation and dissemination strategy for the project.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Performing chemical and microbiological experiments in the laboratory using batch bottles and reactors
• Supervision of MSc students
• Leading the exploitation and dissemination of the project
• (optional) teach in BSc and/or MSc courses

Your team
At location, you will work within the Resource recovery sub-group of Environmental Technology. In the project, your main collaborators will be the other postdocs and PIs in the consortium.

You will work here
The department of Environmental Technology is a large and vibrant research group of about 30 scientific staff-members, 10 laboratory and technical support staff, 80 PhD candidates and 6 postdocs. The group has close collaborations with scientific institutes, industrial stakeholders and water organizations within the Netherlands and beyond.

Projectsecretaris Bodemgeografie en Landschap groep

Als projectsecretaris (0.3-0.4 fte) ondersteun je de projectleider om voortgang van onderzoeksprojecten te bewaken en draag je bij aan de maatschappelijke impact van deze projecten. Je werkt in een inspirerende onderzoeksomgeving in Wageningen en onderhoudt contact met onderzoekers en stakeholders van andere instituten en organisaties.

Je bent verantwoordelijk voor het organisatorisch ondersteunen van het projectmanagement van complexe nationale onderzoeksprojecten, waarin we met andere onderzoeksinstellingen en met (maatschappelijke) partners samenwerken. De onderzoeksprojecten richten zich op klimaatrobuuste bodem- en watersystemen in het Nederlandse landschap (CASTOR; NAT). De projecten zijn gefinancierd door onderzoeksorgansiatie NWO, en de partners zijn onder meer onderzoeksinstituten, MKB, NGO’s, waterschappen en provincies.

Jouw projectondersteuning is zowel intern (binnen de organisatie) als extern (naar de partners) gericht. Intern gaat het daarbij om het structureren en monitoren van de planning en projectvoortgang met focus op agenderen van urgenties en najagen van deadlines. Extern gaat het om het inrichten en organiseren van bijeenkomsten van het onderzoeksteam (met en zonder partners) en het stimuleren van samenwerking binnen de consortia. Daarnaast ben je verantwoordelijk voor het verzamelen van de input voor voortgangsrapportages voor NWO. De projecten die je ondersteunt worden geleid door Jakob Wallinga.

Project Secretary Soil Geography and Landscape Group

As a project secretary (0.3–0.4 FTE), you support the project leader in monitoring the progress of research projects and contribute to the societal impact of these projects. You will work in an inspiring research environment in Wageningen and maintain contact with researchers and stakeholders from other institutes and organizations.

Please be aware: a good sufficiency in Dutch is mandatory for this position
You are responsible for providing organizational support for the project management of complex national research projects, in which we collaborate with other research institutes and (societal) partners. The research projects focus on climate-resilient soil and water systems in the Dutch landscape (CASTOR; NAT). The projects are funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), and the partners include research institutes, SMEs, NGOs, water boards, and provinces.

Your project support is aimed both internally (within the organization) and externally (towards the partners). Internally, this involves structuring and monitoring planning and project progress, with a focus on identifying pressing issues and keeping track of deadlines. Externally, it involves setting up and organizing meetings for the research team (with and without partners) and encouraging collaboration within the consortia. In addition, you are responsible for collecting input for progress reports for NWO. The projects you support are led by Jakob Wallinga.