Deadline for applications: call for applications will open on 31 January 2011 and close on 22 March 2011
Objectives of the PhD
Unive and CMCC joined their efforts to launch a joint PhD Program in order to provide the job market with experts with a broad, in-depth, scientific and socio-economic background, as well as with a sound and innovative research experience focusing on the dynamics of climate change and the methodologies and techniques for evaluation and management, in terms of mitigation and adaptation measures and policies.
Organisation of the PhD Program
The Program is organised in two Streams:
Dynamic Climatology, at CMCC in Bologna
Climate change impact and management, at the Department of Economics of the University Ca’ Foscari in Venice
Twelve 5-credit courses are planned for the first academic year, in order to provide students with the state of the art of the scientific findings related to the two disciplinary streams. These also foresee common activities with the objective of offering tools to build a sound scientific, managerial and economic base for the general comprehension of the broader theme of climate change, with the opportunity for in depth studies of specific issues and for experiencing a multidisciplinary approach.
The second year is aimed at providing the PhD candidates with an experience of research in a foreign institution, while the third year is mainly devoted to the preparation of the thesis.
The PhD admits every year up to twelve students, from Italy and elsewhere.
Research Themes
Examples of themes for the thesis of the PhD candidates are:
Stream Dynamic Climatology:
a) quantitative approach for understanding the functioning of the climatic system in its different components;
b) the climatologic aspects for the comprehension of the climate physics and its variability: process and realistic studies related to the atmospheric/oceanic dynamics in key regions;
c) the theories and evidences of the climatic trends of the distant and near past; study of the non-linearity of climate changes, extreme phenomena and natural hazards;
d) identification of physical, climatic and biological indicators for the reconstruction of climatic aspects of the past and present and of their variability;
Stream Climate Change impact and management:
a) analysis of the economic systems impact of climate change using computable general equilibrium models;
b) assessment of the mitigation and adaptation solutions to climate change;
c) modelling the economic, technological and policy needs of low carbon futures;
d) design of models for the study of trading emission permits and their possible integration;
e) in depth study of the environmental issues for the comprehension of the impacts and risks of climate change on the natural and socio-ecosystems, including the risks for the human health;
f) multi-agent models in climate change adaptation, negotiations, and policy/decision making in general;
g) integrated approaches for the study of social-ecological systems in a global change context;
h) science-policy interfaces and policy/decision support methods and tools;
i) assessment of impacts and risks related to climate change.