Kendall Fellowship: Equitable Shared Autonomous Mobility
Kendall Fellowship: Equitable Shared Autonomous Mobility
Clean Vehicles Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
Washington, DC Office
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the leading science-based organization at the center of today’s most exciting and important policy debates, seeks outstanding candidates for the Kendall Science Fellows program. This two-year fellowship is open to candidates who will have completed their M.S. or Ph.D. in engineering or other appropriate advanced technical degree before fall 2017. The fellow will investigate how new mobility options and autonomous vehicle technology can be leveraged to increase equitable access to mobility while also rapidly cutting oil use and global warming pollution from transportation.
The Union of Concerned Scientists is an independent national nonprofit whose scientists and engineers work to solve some of our planet’s most pressing environmental and security problems. UCS combines technical analysis and effective organizing and advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for stemming the tide of global warming, advancing clean energy and transportation policy, promoting sustainable food and agricultural policy, countering misinformation and reducing the threat of catastrophic nuclear war.
Responsibilities
The Kendall Fellow will work with UCS staff to develop a proposal for a two-year project researching the intersection of new mobility and autonomous vehicle technology. The primary goal is to quantify the potential to simultaneously cut heat trapping emissions and improve equitable access to transportation.
A key emphasis is the role of shared mobility in realizing the opportunities and benefits associated with new technology and business models. You will examine how these technology and business trends could make a positive impact and identify policy considerations to ensure potential benefits actually develop. In addition, the fellow would engage various stakeholders including thought leaders, policymakers and key constituencies currently lacking equitable access to mobility in order to better understand their needs and to share our developing expertise in this area.
The detailed outcomes of the fellowship will be defined during the development of the proposal, but could include a research paper, a UCS report on technology and policy issues as well as developing accessible materials for the public and organizing events that convene experts and/or policymakers.
Qualifications and experience
The Kendall Fellow should have knowledge and experience with transportation models, and ideally with behavioral and urban design factors relevant to transportation demand, vehicle emissions, impacts of ride-sourcing and ride-sharing, demand and availability of public transit, or congestion modeling. Skill and experience communicating complex technical and policy questions in written products and verbal presentations is also important.
A completed M.S. or Ph.D. in engineering or other appropriate advanced degree in a related scientific or engineering field is required.
May spend extended periods at computer terminal. Travel on roughly a quarterly basis, occasionally including overnight stays.
UCS is an equal opportunity employer continually seeking to diversify its staff. In particular, we’re dedicated to broadening opportunities for individuals from demographic groups that are historically underrepresented in the sciences and in environmental advocacy. We’re also committed to building an inclusive workplace culture where talented people of widely diverse backgrounds can thrive. We've adopted this commitment because we believe the inclusion of culturally diverse perspectives will improve our work and produce better societal and environmental outcomes for all, including historically disenfranchised communities. We are actively seeking people who bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to join us in this work.
About the Kendall Science Fellows Program
The Kendall Science Fellows Program was established to honor Nobel Prize winning physicist Henry Kendall who was with UCS from our beginnings and was the long-time chair of our board. Kendall was known for his unique ability to shake up the status quo and catalyze new thinking, and UCS looks to Kendall Fellows to do the same. Priority is given to innovative and forward-looking proposals that are primarily scientific, technical, or analytic in nature but also show interest in the application of science to policy. Fellows will benefit from the opportunity to learn from the UCS approach to science and policy, and UCS will benefit from the new approaches and expertise of the Kendall Fellows.
Compensation, Hours and Location: This is a full-time, up to two-year position based in UCS’s Washington DC office. Fellowship will begin fall 2017. Kendall Fellowship salaries follow a special structure and are fixed at $72,000 for candidates with less than 3 years relevant post-Ph.D. experience and $82,000 for those with 3-8 years of post-Ph.D. experience. UCS offers excellent benefits and a rewarding work environment. Information about UCS is available at http://www.ucsusa.org
To Apply: Please submit a short application, including a statement of interest (up to 2 pages, including relevant background and experience, a brief description of a research idea in the selected area, and interest in working with UCS), curriculum vitae, and two references to jobs@ucsusa.org including “Kendall Fellowship” and “Equitable Mobility” in the subject line. Email materials in Word or PDF format only. No phone calls please.
Review of initial applications will begin December 12, 2016. Following an initial screening, top candidates will co-write a more specific fellowship proposal in coordination with UCS staff for submission to the Kendall Science Fellows Program Advisory Committee by January 26, 2017. Final decisions on the award of this competitive fellowship will be made by the end of February, 2017.