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Dr Isabela Butnar
Principal Research Fellow
Bartlett School Env, Energy & Resources
Faculty of the Built Environment
- Joined UCL
- 22nd Feb 2016
Research summary
I am an environmental sustainability scientist with a broad range of modelling experience in sustainability assessment of products and services. I have a solid theoretical base, complemented by a rich industry experience, which allowed me to work with a multitude of stakeholders along international supply chains. I have a successful track record in Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Environmental Input-Output (EIO) and Energy System modelling, subjects that I find particularly stimulating.
My current research focuses on Greenhouse Gas Removal(GGR) scale up in the UK and abroad. As UCL Co-PI of the CO2RE Hub, I am coordinating the development of a GGR evaluation framework to inform sustainable GGR scale up in the UK. I am also the GGR-Demonstrators programme coordinator of Life Cycle Assessment methods for GGR evaluation.
Another key part of my current research is dedicated to the co-creation with non-academic partners of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) assessment tools tailored for informing decision-making at local authority level. To this end, I am working with Cambridgeshire County Council in a Net Zero Innovation project funded by the Local Government Association, co-creating fit-for-purpose tools to help estimation of council's scope 3 emissions and enable collaboration with its suppliers for a joined transition to net zero. Find out more about our project here.
Teaching summary
I am currently co-supervising 3 PhD students:
- Xin Chen, investigating the Environmental sustainability of the UK cider production
- Chris Kim, Examining the Competitiveness of Synthetic Jet Fuel and High-Value Chemicals in a Net Zero Energy System
- Haodong Lin developing LCA-based indicators for circular economy food systems
I teach the course Conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): from Theory to Practical Application a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) course designed for professionals who would like to understand, conduct, or implement LCA studies or associated policies.
I am delivering every year guest lectures and seminars for the BSEER master degrees, and I run a modelling tutorial for the MSc in Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment.
I am also teaching a MSc optional module on Life Cycle Assessment available to all UCL MSc students.
Education
- Masters, Advanced Process Engineering |
- First Degree, Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering |
- Doctorate, PhD in Process Engineering |
- Masters, MSc in Process Engineering |
Biography
I joined the UCL ISR as a Senior Research Fellow in Bioenergy Systems in February 2016.
Before joining ISR, I worked as an environmental sustainability scientist for Unilever, and as associate researcher and research projects manager at the Rovira i Virgili University (Spain).
I hold a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Rovira i Virgili University, Spain, and a MSc in Interface Process Engineering from the Babes-Bolyai University, Romania.