PhD in Environmental Engineering
Current position: Lecturer in Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Australia
Research focus: indoor environmental quality, cycle analysis, and risk assessment
2016 Co-PI in Advanced Ventilation System for Tropical Urban Environment grant awarded by SINO-BCA
2016 Award from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Singapore
2012 Research Exchange Fellowship from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Singapore
CV as submitted for the Green Talents award (2011):
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Research focus: life cycle sustainability assessment models
Jin (Jenny) Zhou, a PhD candidate from China with two Master’s degrees in engineering, is focusing her research on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Models (LCSA) for energy-intensive engineering processes, including desalination and water reclamation.
Jin (Jenny) Zhou’s goal is to help provide comprehensive sustainability assessment models for energy systems. In the models she uses, sustainability is measured by environmental, economic and social factors. She is working to improve these models, which will play a crucial role in reducing the amount of energy used in various engineering processes. Already, she has integrated environmental footprints and economic sustainability into decision-making frameworks.
The three areas of improvement that her research focuses on include: increasing thefeasibility of LCSA models by reducing the amount of data required for analyses without sacrificing their accuracy; improving the reliability of local and regional life cycle assessment studies by providing local context; and, finally, building an LCSA framework to support decision-making.
Ms Zhou, who is interested in setting high standards for environmental protection and supporting strategic decision-making about energy consumption, has pursued her interest in life cycle assessment models at a workshop at the University of South Wales in 2010 and as the winner of a spot at the Global Sustainability Summer School in Brunei in 2011. She has also spoken on the subject at a conference held by the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment. Her presentation was entitled: “Optimization of Singapore Electricity Production Model: A Comparison of Environmental Impact, Financial Cost, and Sustainability Approaches.”
The jury noted Ms Zhou’s research work and said her publications illustrate the possibility of using complex LCSA models even in cases where little input information is available. It also applauded Ms Zhou’s research on implementing the models locally, incorporating local decision-making processes and efforts to save energy.
Ms Zhou is eager to participate in the Green Talents Forum to learn about work taking place in Germany in membrane technology, which is an important part of her research on the sustainability of desalination processes. “With this opportunity, I can observe how the environmental burdens of desalination and other water treatment technologies are measured, controlled and regulated in Germany,” she said.
