Paid Undergraduate Research Assistantship for Work Study Students

Undergraduate Research Assistantship:
Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Analysis (Data Collection and Modeling)

Summary of Project and Position
An undergraduate Research Assistant (RA) is needed to collaborate on a Ph.D. dissertation project examining the carbon footprint of U.S. diets. The Ph.D. candidate is based at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Chinatown but will work from the Medford campus on this project. The study will collect and assemble economic and environmental data in order to improve a standard Economic Input-Output Life Cycle (EIO-LCA) model which will be used to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions caused by food system industries and U.S. household diets. The RA will collect data from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other sources and format it for use with standard EIOLCA models.

Timeline and Time Commitment
• Start date February 1, 2015 through Summer 2015
• 200 hours total (approximately 10 hours per week)
• Work will be conducted independently. Bi-weekly or monthly check-ins with the Ph.D. candidate will be required in-person.

Stipend
$12/hour, must be work-study eligible

Skills
• Experience with creating and manipulating large datasets is required.
• Coursework in economics, statistics, computer science, or engineering is required.
• Understanding of matrix algebra is required.
• Experience collecting data from a variety of sources, including government agencies.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel is required.
• Experience with Stata and Dropbox preferred.
• Interest and ability to work independently.
• Strong organization skills and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with life cycle assessment or economic input-output data/modeling is preferred but not required.

To apply
Please send a resume and cover letter in a single PDF to Rebecca Nemec Boehm at
Rebecca.nemec@tufts.edu.