PhD/Postdoc Start Date: July 1, 2025
PhD Topic 1: Achieving a sustainable, resilient, and affordable net-zero transformation in the face of global shocks.
PhD Topic 2: Exploring post-growth modeling approaches and pathways under new climate-economic scenarios, and pathways and policies to achieve the 1.5°C climate target.
Postdoc Focus: Complex system modeling and degrowth pathways: Multi-model integration and global feedback analysis.
Salary and Benefits:
- Postdoctoral Researcher: Full-time (3-year fixed-term contract, renewable), starting salary of AUD 109,301 + 17% superannuation (AUD 18,581).
- PhD Students: Exemption from PhD tuition fees, along with a 3.5-year Australian government standard living allowance plus top-up scholarship (total AUD 41,735 per year).
- Additional Support for Postdocs/PhDs:
- Funding to attend international high-level academic conferences.
- Access to additional benefits provided by the university and faculty, such as support for higher research qualifications and graduate research support programs.
- Entitlement to public holidays in New South Wales, Sydney University holidays, and 20 days of annual leave per year.
Living Environment:
Sydney ranks 7th in the world for livability in 2024, with perfect scores in education and healthcare. According to current Australian policy, PhD graduates are eligible for a 4-year work visa and can apply for permanent residency.
Application Requirements: Applicants should have:
- A master’s and/or PhD degree in energy, environment, or economics, or expect to complete the degree by July 2025.
- Research experience in at least one of the following topics:
- Scenario modeling; integrated assessment modeling;
- Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modeling;
- Economics, environmental, energy processes, and modeling;
- Excellent mathematical and computational modeling skills.
- Ability to conduct independent research and publish top-tier international journal articles.
University of Sydney PhD Admission Requirements: https://www.sydney.edu.au/study/applying/how-to-apply/postgraduate-research.html
English Language Requirements: https://www.sydney.edu.au/study/applying/how-to-apply/international-students/english-language-requirements.html
Application Materials:
Please send a cover letter, CV, academic transcript, and English language test results to mengyu.li@sydney.edu.au by January 31, 2025. The cover letter should highlight academic contributions, research plans, and why you are interested in the PhD research topics. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.
Program Recruitment Page (updated regularly; please email for the latest link):
https://www.sydney.edu.au/research/opportunities/3586.html
We welcome joint PhD training and visiting scholars to join the team for collaboration and exchange. Applications are also welcome from candidates applying for Australian government scholarships, Sydney University scholarships, and self-funded PhD students.
Professor Manfred Lenzen, a professor at the University of Sydney, Australia, and Dr. Mengyu Li, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, Australia, and a recipient of the Sydney Horizon Fellowship, lead a research team focused on interdisciplinary environmental economics and climate change solutions, with over 30 high-impact papers published in journals such as Nature and The Lancet. They are now seeking postdoctoral researchers and several PhD students (with full scholarships). Interested individuals are welcome to join the University of Sydney (QS World Rank 20) for research on climate change and sustainable development!
About the University: The University of Sydney, founded in 1850, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. It is the oldest university in Australia and a member of the Group of Eight (Go8), a prestigious group of Australian universities. The University currently ranks 18th in the QS World University Rankings.
About the Supervisors: Professor Lenzen is a lifelong Fellow of the International Input-Output Association (IIOA), which was founded in 1988 by Nobel Laureate Wassily W. Leontief and others. He is one of the seven original Fellows of the Association and has pioneered several global databases and research tools. He is internationally recognized as a leading authority in environmental economic input-output analysis, with profound impacts on life cycle assessment and renewable energy technologies. Professor Lenzen is also a member of the UNEP International Resource Panel and a lead author for the IPCC assessment reports. His groundbreaking work includes the development of the EORA and GLORIA global multi-regional input-output databases (Global MRIO Database) and the Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (IELab), which are widely used in environmental footprint analysis and circular economy policy research, providing scientific support for global sustainability. These results have been published in top-tier journals such as Nature, Nature Climate Change, Nature Sustainability, Nature Food, Nature Communications, and PNAS, with nine of his papers having over 1,000 citations each, demonstrating the global impact of his research. As of October 2024, Professor Lenzen has received 28,340 citations on Scopus, with an h-index of 88, and 47,968 citations on Google Scholar with an h-index of 105. His research not only drives methodological breakthroughs in related fields but also provides policy advice and technical support to countries like China, Indonesia, and Australia.
Dr. Mengyu Li is a Horizon Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the ISA team at the School of Physics, University of Sydney. With an interdisciplinary background in engineering and sustainable development, her research focuses on the quantitative assessment of the interactions between society, economics, ecosystems, and resources on local, national, and global scales. Currently, her research interests include post-growth economics and international fairness, the environmental and social footprints of low-carbon energy production and consumption, future environmental and resource scenarios, and the potential impacts of global disasters on production and consumption systems. Dr. Li is leading the joint creation of the Global Economic, Environmental, and Social Impact Database (GLORIA) in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to monitor the progress of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8 and 12. Her exceptional research (such as high-impact papers published as the first author in Nature Sustainability, Nature Food, and others) has earned her numerous awards, including the 2024 Eureka Prize for “Excellence in Young Scientific Research” (the only recipient in Australia), the 2024 Sydney Horizon Fellowship (with a success rate of only 2%), the 2024 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award (one of five recipients in Australia and New Zealand), the 2024 University of Sydney Chancellor’s Award for “Young Researcher of the Year,” the 2024 Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (DECRA, with a success rate of less than 20%), and the 2022 Eureka Prize for “Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research” (the only recipient in Australia).
Professor Lenzen has successfully supervised more than 30 PhD graduates and hosted over 50 visiting scholars from more than 30 countries. Dr. Mengyu Li has supervised 3 PhD graduates (now postdoctoral researchers at renowned Australian universities and senior engineers at Australian grid companies) and currently has 4 PhD students under supervision.
- Professor Lenzen’s personal homepage: https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/manfred-lenzen.html
Google Scholar: As of January 1, 2025, total citations: 48,398, h-index: 105. - Dr. Mengyu Li’s personal homepage: https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/mengyu-li.html
Google Scholar: As of January 1, 2025, total citations: 3,025, h-index: 21.