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Biography
Roland Geyer joined the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management in October 2003. His research areas are Industrial Ecology and Production and Operations Management. He is especially interested in the environmental and economic potential of reuse and recycling activities. Another focus of his work is the relationship between environmental and economic performance of clean technologies and green business models. In his previous position at the Centre for Environmental Strategy in the UK, Dr. Geyer worked with the UK steel and aluminum industries to benchmark their environmental performance and identify strategies for further improvements. Prior to this he was at INSEAD, a leading business school based in France, where he studied the opportunities for and challenges of product remanufacturing as part of an EU-funded project which involved companies such as NEC, Bosch and HP. Since 2005, Dr. Geyer works with the global steel association, IISI, on climate change issues. Ongoing cooperation and information exchange with companies, such as Honda, Nokia, Volvo, Toyota and various third-party recyclers and remanufacturers, are an important aspect of his research and assure that his work is grounded in the real world. Dr. Geyer has a postgraduate degree in physics from the Technical University Berlin, Germany, and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK.
Honors
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2006 AT&T Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowship
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2002 Best Paper, 10th Life Cycle Assessment Case Studies Symposium, SETAC Europe
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2001 Doctoral Scholarship, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
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2000 Doctoral Scholarship, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
Open PhD Position
November 13, 2007
Open PhD position in the industrial ecology research program at the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara
In 2008 the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management will start a new research initiative on the environmental impacts and management challenges of thermoplastic materials in products and product packaging. As part of this project, we are offering a PhD position to be filled as soon as possible.
The research is part of Bren School’s industrial ecology program and will be based on systems thinking, in particular, life cycle methodology. We will use material and substance flow analysis (MFA/SFA) to quantify the flows of thermoplastic resins and their additives, fundamental building blocks of industrial societies, through the California economy. This will help to identify the main product applications for each material and substance, quantify flow rates and stock changes, assess waste generation and recycling rates, and measure the importance of trade at each stage in the supply chain. We are especially interested in estimating the amount of plastic waste that enters the natural environment and assessing its environmental impact potential, such as endocrine disruption in aquatic organisms. We will also conduct life cycle assessments (LCA) to develop environmental profiles of selected product systems such as PET beverage containers. Another focus will be the availability and environmental performance of alternative resins and additives, such as bio-based polymers and green chemicals.
Ideal PhD candidates will have prior experience/training in MFA/SFA, LCA and/or polymer science and chemistry. Equally important are a keen interest in the subject and a relevant university degree. Large parts of this research will be done in cooperation with California government agencies, industry organizations, and other universities. The PhD student will thus work in a vibrant research environment in close contact with public and corporate policy makers. The objective of this initiative is to generate novel research that is of the highest academic standards and of immediate relevance for government and industry.
To apply for the PhD position or for further information, please contact Roland Geyer at geyer@bren.ucsb.edu, (805) 893 72234 (phone) or (805) 893 6113 (fax).
Selected Publications
Geyer R, Van Wassenhove L N, Atasu A (2007) The Economics of Remanufacturing under Limited Component Durability and Finite Product Life Cycles, Management Science 53(1): 88-100.
Davis J, Geyer R, Ley J, He J, Jackson T, Clift R, Kwan A, Sansom M (2007) Time-dependent material flow analysis of iron & steel in the UK. Part 2: Scrap generation & recycling, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 51(1): 101-117.
Geyer R, Davis J, Ley J, He J, Jackson T, Clift R, Kwan A, Sansom M (2007) Time-dependent material flow analysis of iron & steel in the UK. Part 1: Production & consumption trends 1970–2000, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 51(1): 118-140.
Oliver J, Amirtharajah R, Geyer R, Chong F T (2006) Life-Cycle Aware Computer Architecture: Reusing Silicon in the Technology Food Chain, International Symposium on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems, WACI Session.
Geyer R, Van Wassenhove L N (2005) The Impact of Constraints in Closed-loop Supply Chains: The Case of Reusing Components in Product Manufacturing, in: Distribution Logistics: Advanced Solutions to Practical Problems, Fleischmann B, Klose A (Eds.), Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems Vol.544, Springer, Berlin, Germany.
Geyer R, Neeraj K, Van Wassenhove L N (2005) Reverse logistics in an electronics company: the NEC-CI case, in: Managing Closed-Loop Supply Chains, Flapper S D P, van Nunen J A E E, Van Wassenhove L N (Eds.), Springer, Berlin, Germany.
Geyer R, Jackson T (2004) Supply Loops and Their Constraints: The Industrial Ecology of Recycling and Reuse, California Management Review, 46(2): 55-73.
Geyer R (2004) Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Supply Loops and their Constraints, PhD Thesis, Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
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