Job Description

The Pennsylvania State University is recruiting a highly motivated postdoctoral scholar for the project “Capacity Adequacy Options for Electricity Markets with Increasing Renewable Penetration”, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and is led by Prof. Chiara Lo Prete.

Description
The objective of the project is to compare wholesale electricity market designs for resource adequacy under increasing renewable penetration. The position will involve developing equilibrium models that incorporate risk aversion and extreme events into generation capacity investment decisions. A distinctive feature of the project is that predictions from the equilibrium models will inform the design of human subject experiments to compare performance of market structures in the lab. The primary focus of this position is on equilibrium models, but the postdoctoral scholar may also have the opportunity to participate in the design of the lab experiments.

Requirements
Applicants must have a Ph.D. in a relevant field (e.g., operations research, industrial engineering, applied mathematics) by the effective date of employment. Competitive candidates will have a solid background in optimization with strong programming skills (GAMS and Matlab), and an interest in electricity markets. Familiarity with complementarity modeling is preferred but not required. Recent Ph.D. graduates who have experience with optimization algorithms for electric power grids are especially encouraged to apply.

More details
The preferred start date is January 1, 2022. The appointment will be for a period of 12 months with possibility of renewal contingent upon successful evaluation of performance. Potential applicants should please contact Prof. Lo Prete (chiaraloprete@psu.edu), including a cover letter (max 1 page) describing their background and interest in this opportunity, a current curriculum vitae (max 2 pages), and contact information for three professional references. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

All faculty and staff at Penn State locations where work is being conducted under federal contracts (including the University Park campus) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 8, 2021.