Postdoctoral Research Associate - Industrial Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization

Requisition Id 11794 

Overview: 

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

 

The Manufacturing Energy Efficiency Research & Analysis (MEERA) Group, housed within the Manufacturing Science Division (MSD), Energy Science and Technology Directorate (ESTD) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is currently seeking to fill a position for a Postdoctoral Research Associate. The role entails contributing to MEERA group’s mission of disseminating knowledge on energy, carbon, water, and material efficiency in the manufacturing sector and develop, deploy, and promote impactful practices, tools, and technologies. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in mechanical engineering, industrial energy systems, renewable energy, decarbonization, or other related fields. The candidate will play a crucial role in the planning, execution, and optimization of our technical assistance program for energy intensive industries (iron & steel, food, pulp & paper, chemicals, nonferrous metals, and nonmetallic minerals). The primary objective of the energy intensive industries (EIIs) program is to engage with manufacturers from energy-intensive industrial sectors to better understand their specific needs and issues in implementing energy efficiency and decarbonization activities. The candidate will work closely with program allies, subject matter experts and technical trade associations to ensure successful delivery of technical assistance to energy intensive manufacturing participants.

 

The MEERA Group actively contributes to the efforts of the Department of Energy’s Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office (IEDO) by providing technical assistance. This role supports the IEDO’s vision of driving energy savings and decarbonization that can have broader impact across the energy intensive industries, which leads to cost savings, greater resilience, a strengthened workforce, and increased global competitiveness.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will contribute to the efforts on research and analysis of technologies and practices for increasing energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprint of the energy intensive sector.

• Program Design: Support in creating technical assistance activities tailored to the needs of energy intensive industries or target sectors considering factors such as energy and decarbonization assessments, workforce development and technology demonstrations.
• Resource Development: Assist in developing relevant technical resources to address the unique needs of EIIs. Resources could include guidance documents, white papers, presentation materials and energy and decarbonization tools.
• Interface with program participants and contribute to technical support activities such as: visiting manufacturing sites, analyzing technologies, assisting EIIs to improve energy management practices, perform energy data benchmarking and analysis studies.   
• Project Management: Coordinate with program partners, allies and subject matter experts and assist in the execution of technical assistance activities such as assessments, and trainings.
• Policy Analysis: Evaluate and identify funding opportunities related to energy efficiency and decarbonization projects and provide recommendations to EII program participants.
• Collaboration: Collaborate with trade associations and national labs and leverage their knowledge base to provide technical assistance to EII program participants.
• Publication: Prepare research papers, reports, and presentations to disseminate findings in journals, conferences and to stakeholders.
• Develop monthly program impact reports to share the status and findings of the program with DOE program manager. 
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 

Basic Qualifications:

• A PhD in energy engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, or a r