(Archived)
Postdoctoral Scholar Employee Appointment, Political Economy of Power Grid Management
Department: School of Global Policy and Strategy
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Appointment: 12 months (extendable based on mutual agreement and available funding)
Start Date: Flexible
The UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) is hiring a postdoctoral researcher to examine the political economy of power grid management under decarbonization. The postdoc should be well-versed in least-cost energy systems optimization models in one or more modeling languages (e.g., AMPL, GAMS, Julia/JuMP, Python/Pyomo), and be eager to apply insights from the study of power grid institutions to improving model representations of real-world phenomena. The postdoc will work with the PI, Michael Davidson, Assistant Professor in GPS and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who has ongoing projects examining the political economy of dispatch reform in China and India, and the benefits and political barriers to regional grid integration of the western US. Additional regions of focus may be added based on mutual interest.
The postdoc will be fully integrated into the GPS community, a highly interdisciplinary school of public policy scholars. The postdoc will also be expected to engage with other units on campus researching energy systems, particularly the Jacobs School of Engineering.
Qualifications Required and Preferred Academic Background
All candidates must have a demonstrated research ability and publication track record, excellent written and spoken English, and a PhD in a relevant field. The 12-month appointment can be renewed contingent on funding and performance.
To Apply: Submit a CV, a writing sample, model documentation and analysis scripts of a relevant research problem undertaken, a one-page personal statement of experience and career goals, and contact information for three references. Application must be submitted by email to mrdavidson[at]ucsd.edu, and include “Postdoc Application: Political Economy of Power Grid Management” in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.