About the Project
Supervisor 3: Prof. Peter Styring, Chemical and Biological Engineering, [Email Address Removed]
The Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures focuses on advancing the science of sustainability and connecting it with the policy debate around how humans can live in a more sustainable way.
grantham.sheffield.ac.uk
We are recruiting Grantham Scholars who will combine outstanding intellect with a strong commitment to public engagement, leadership and action. If these principles match your ambitions, you are invited to apply for one of our interdisciplinary PhD research projects to help solve the challenges of sustainability. You will be supported by the Grantham Centre through a unique training programme, designed to equip to with the skills to become a policy advocate and leader in sustainability matters.
Your application for this studentship should be accompanied by a CV and a 200 word supporting statement. Your statement should outline your aspirations and motivation for studying in the Grantham Centre, outlining any relevant experience. Please submit this in the online application.
Please note: in online application process please select ’standard PhD’ not DTC option.
Project Description
Urea-ka! is an interdisciplinary project which seeks to advance understanding of emerging socio-political perceptions of technological advancements in Carbon Dioxide Utilisation (CDU); advancements which could stand to promote the sustainable manufacture of widely-used products, especially urea-based products (e.g. agricultural fertilizers, pesticides).
While technical research and development into CDU is accelerating, there remains little research into the social acceptability (i.e. public, market & political) of the technologies and product options. Without socio-political support, it will be difficult for CDU innovation to secure funding, gain regulatory approval or find sites upon which to operate.
Urea-ka! seeks to systematically address this gap through an interdisciplinary programme of research designed to: (1) triangulate extant knowledge and perspectives, (2) conduct social scientific experiments to develop new understanding and (3) to advocate and communicate the findings. In doing so Urea-ka! will yield new insight into: (a) the nature and antecedents of emerging public opinion of CDU options; and (b) how these opinion data might stand to affect UK (and EU/global) political agenda-setting regarding CDU technologies.
We are looking for a committed, enthusiastic scholar who is willing to operate at the interface of three different, although complementary, disciplines.
Urea-ka! seeks to promote upstream public engagement with technical advancements in Carbon Dioxide Utilisation (CDU) in order to identify (a) those technological applications ripe for social & economic growth; and (b) the routes by which political change can be affected.
The findings are intended to also hold applied, real-world relevance. For example, in the realm of soil conservation and management, captured CO2 (e.g. from Carbon Capture & Storage, CCS) can be used to accelerate the mineralisation of solid inorganic waste, providing materials for construction (e.g. bricks). This CDU process could be of particular benefit for developing nations (e.g. India), where valuable topsoil is regularly used for such purposes. CDU could thus yield more sustainable sources of construction materials, while retaining valuable topsoil for farming; topsoil that can be further enriched through CDU-derived urea-fertilizers. By better understanding the social and political responses to this (and other) options, Ureaka! will stand to provide guidance on public and political communication and engagement practices relating to CDU.
Urea-ka! capitalises on the combined expertise, networks and experience of 3 supervisors from different departments. The project builds upon emerging strengths and priority areas at the University of Sheffield in CDU/CCS technology (e.g. CDUUK; Energy 2050) and on understanding political process at the technology-policy interface (e.g. Environment & Society Group; Crick Centre). Urea-ka! directly links to existing international, transdisciplinary networks fostering the advancement of CDU technology (e.g. 4CU, CO2Chem, SCOT).
The PhD project will be a genuinely interdisciplinary enterprise. All supervisors will be involved at all stages of the PhD and will integrate the scholar within their respective departments, providing extended support networks and training opportunities where appropriate.
An ideal candidate would have a background in subjects including (although not restricted to): environmental psychology, political science, socio-technical systems, environmental engineering, environmental science.
Key words:
Carbon Dioxide Utilisation; Carbon Capture and Utilisation; Public perception; Politics; Urea; Socio-technical
Funding Notes
This four year studentship will be fully funded at Home/EU or international rates.
Support for travel and consumables (RTSG) will also be made available at standard rate of £2,627 per annum, with an additional one-off allowance of £1,000 for a computer in the first year. Students will receive an annual stipend of £17,335 in 2015/16, rising with inflation thereafter. Applications should be received and completed by 7th March 2016.
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