Multiple fully funded graduate student positions are available in the Li Research Group (https://yalinli.group) led by Dr. Yalin Li at the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Expected starting time for the positions are in Spring or Fall 2024, but earlier start is possible.
Position 1: USDA FORWARD (modeling, Spring 2024)
This area is funded by a recently awarded $2.5 million USDA project – Pave the Way: From Organic Waste to Renewable Road with Advanced Resource Recovery Delineation (FORWARD). The student will lead the development of open-source modules in the QSDsan platform (https://qsdsan.readthedocs.io) for process simulation, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and life cycle assessment (LCA) of a pilot-scale hydrothermal system for biobinder production for road construction using food waste and swine manure.
Position 2: sustainable design (modeling, Fall 2024)
This area will work on the development of open-source platforms including QSDsan and BioSTEAM (https://biosteam.readthedocs.io) for sustainable design of water and energy infrastructure, including centralized wastewater treatment facilities, non-sewered sanitation systems, and emerging technologies for waste valorization as well as bioenergy and bioproducts.
Position 3: resource recovery (experimentation, Fall 2024)
This area will focus on advancing hydrothermal systems for resource recovery from wet organic wastes (e.g., food waste, sewage sludge), including the production of drop-in biofuels (e.g., sustainable aviation fuels), platform chemicals, renewable materials (e.g., biobinders), fertilizers (e.g., struvite), and soil amendment (e.g., biochar).
We welcome applications from candidates with an undergraduate or MS (preferred for PhD students) degree in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Chemical Engineering, or other related fields. The ideal candidates should be self-motivated, able to work independently as well as collaboratively as part of a team, and have excellent written and oral communication skills.
Though not required, the following experiences are highly desired:
1. Modeling-focused: process modeling (GPS-X, BioWin, CapdetWorks, Aspen Plus, SuperPro Designer), TEA, LCA (openLCA, SimaPro, GREET), geographic modeling (ArcGIS), and programming (Python in particular).
2. Experimentation-focused: wet lab skills and experiences with hydrothermal conversion for biofuel or biochar (e.g., hydrothermal liquefaction or carbonization), catalytic hydrothermal gasification, hydrotreating, product characterization, and analytical instrument (e.g., GC, HPLC).
All positions will cover tuition with a competitive stipend and benefits including health insurance. The students will work in a supportive research environment with state-of-the-art facilities and will be engaged in multidisciplinary collaboration for convergence research. Dr. Li will work closely with the students to provide tailored mentoring plans based on their career goals, and will fund activities for professional development (e.g., conferences and workshops for research and leadership development).
To Apply
Interested candidates should contact Dr. Li through email (yalinli2@illinois.edu and cc mailto.yalin.li@gmail.com) with the subject line: Graduate Student Application: . In the email, please indicate your interested position and program level (MS or PhD). If you are interested in multiple positions, please rank them according to your preference. In the email, please attach the following materials as a single PDF file:
(i) Cover letter indicating your background, research interest, and career goals
(ii) CV or resume
(iii) Unofficial transcripts
(iv) Sample of scholarly output or scientific writing (e.g., first-author publications, preprints, thesis, course project reports)
(v) Contact information for 3 references (including names, affiliations, and emails)
(vi) GRE score (optional) and TOEFL/IELTS score (required for international students)
More information on the graduate programs, including application requirements and deadlines, can be found through https://cee.rutgers.edu/graduate-engineering.
About the Li Group
Dr. Yalin Li is currently a Research Scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and will join Rutgers as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2023. The overarching goal of the group’s research is to advance the sustainability of water and energy infrastructure through integrated experimentation and sustainable design, with recent efforts spanning sanitation and resource recovery systems, field-to-market bioeconomy value chain, and the development of open-source platforms for process design, sustainability analyses, as well as decision-making.
About Rutgers–New Brunswick
Founded in 1766, Rutgers–New Brunswick is the flagship location of Rutgers University. It is New Jersey’s No. 1 public research university, a Top 20 public national university, and a member of the Association of American Universities and the Big Ten Academic Alliance.
The CEE department (https://cee.rutgers.edu) is housed in the new Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering in the Busch Campus, which is conveniently situated in central New Jersey and near the major urban centers of New York City, Philadelphia, and the iconic Jersey Shore.
Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution and welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusivity. Students are encouraged to learn more about Rutgers Diversity at https://diversity.rutgers.edu.