- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
- Circular Economy
- Sustainable Textile and Apparel Systems
- Industrial Ecology
- Machine Learning for Sustainability
- Sustainable Manufacturing
- Circular Supply Chains
- Sustainability Assessment
- Environmental Systems Modeling
- Sustainable Materials Management
- Climate and Resource Policy
The fellow will join a highly interdisciplinary research program focused on advancing sustainability science by integrating life-cycle thinking, circular-economy principles, computational methods, and stakeholder-engaged research. The research group develops innovative methods and decision-support tools to address sustainability challenges across product systems, supply chains, infrastructure, and communities.
The group collaborates with academic researchers, industry partners, nonprofit organizations, and policymakers.
As this opportunity is intended for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship application, candidates will be expected to identify a suitable European host institution in the same or a complementary research area for the outgoing phase of the fellowship. The University of Massachusetts Lowell will serve as the host institution in the United States and support proposal development.
Option 4 (for internal circulation)
Current Research Opportunities
A major research focus is an NSF CAREER project aimed at advancing the scientific foundations of circular economy assessment for textile and apparel systems. Link: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award?AWD_ID=2542794
The project seeks to address critical methodological challenges in evaluating circular systems by integrating:
- Life Cycle Assessment
- Circular Economy Theory
- Thermodynamic Principles
- Machine Learning
- Systems Modeling
The project investigates how environmental impacts, resource efficiency, circularity, and sustainability performance can be assessed more accurately across textile value chains.
The research group is also developing the STITCH framework, an integrated sustainability assessment framework designed to address data, methodological, and decision-support challenges associated with circular textile systems.
Research themes include:
- Circular textile supply chains
- Textile reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling systems
- Circularity metrics and indicators
- Data quality and uncertainty analysis
- Dynamic sustainability assessment
- Machine-learning-assisted environmental modeling
- Regional and institutional circular economy strategies
- Sustainability Policy and Transition Research
Ongoing work also examines the role of policy, governance, and stakeholder decision-making in accelerating sustainability transitions.
Examples include:
- Textile waste reduction policies
- Circular economy policy evaluation
- Sustainable materials management
- Community-scale sustainability transitions
- Decision support for public and private sector stakeholders
Potential Fellowship Topics
Candidates are encouraged to develop innovative proposals aligned with one or more of the following themes:
Theme 1
Advancing Life Cycle Assessment for Circular Economy Systems
Development of methods addressing allocation, multifunctionality, rebound effects, uncertainty, dynamic systems, and circularity assessment.
Theme 2
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability Assessment
Integration of machine learning with environmental modeling, LCA, circular economy assessment, and sustainability decision support.
Theme 3
Circular Textile and Apparel Systems
Assessment and optimization of reuse, repair, remanufacturing, recycling, and waste prevention strategies across textile value chains.
Theme 4
Data Challenges in Sustainability Assessment
Novel approaches to addressing uncertainty, data gaps, interoperability, and large-scale sustainability datasets.
Theme 5
Policy-Relevant Sustainability Science
Research supporting evidence-based policy development for circular economy transitions, waste reduction, and climate mitigation.
Applicants are also encouraged to propose original ideas that complement the host's expertise.
Candidate Profile
Applicants should have:
- A PhD completed before the MSCA deadline
- Strong publication record relative to career stage
- Demonstrated research independence
- Excellent scientific writing skills
- Interest in interdisciplinary sustainability research
- Motivation to develop a competitive MSCA proposal
Expertise in one or more of the following is particularly welcome:
- Life Cycle Assessment
- Circular Economy
- Industrial Ecology
- Textile Sustainability
- Data Science
- Machine Learning
- Operations Research
- Environmental Modeling
- Supply Chain Analysis
- Sustainability Policy
The host is particularly interested in candidates who: (a) demonstrate creativity and scientific curiosity, (b) develop original research ideas, (c) show evidence of independent scholarship, (d) value collaboration and mentorship, (e) produce rigorous and reproducible research, and (f) are interested in generating both scientific and societal impact.
Candidates with expertise in life cycle assessment, industrial ecology, circular economy, textile systems, sustainability transitions, machine learning, data science, environmental policy, or related fields are particularly encouraged to apply.
Expression of Interest
Interested candidates should submit a single PDF containing:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Publication List
- One-page research concept note
- Statement describing alignment with the host's research program
The concept note should address:
- Research objectives
- Scientific novelty
- Methodological approach
- Expected impact
- Fit with the host's expertise
Selected candidates will be invited to collaborate on the preparation of a competitive Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship proposal.
Why University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a Carnegie R1 research university with recognized strengths in engineering, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, data science, and public-interest research. Fellows benefit from a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment, access to strong industry and community partnerships, and opportunities to contribute to high-impact sustainability research addressing global challenges.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until a suitable candidate is selected to develop the proposal.
