Type of employment
Fellowship
Funding
$120,000 over four years
Application deadline
January 10, 2025
The Systems Design Engineering Department at the University of Waterloo is pleased to invite applications for the Cornfield Sustainable Energy PhD Fellowship. This fellowship will address multi-scale, interconnected, highly complex, and dynamic socio technical systems.
This prestigious award provides $120,000 over four years ($30,000 per year). When combined with advisor support ($10,000 per year), Faculty of Engineering support ($5,000 per year) and one guaranteed teaching assistantship per year, the Cornfield Sustainable Energy PhD Fellows are expected to receive approximately $50,000 of support per year. Award applications are due January 10, 2025.
This opportunity is open to exceptional candidates with relevant experience who want to extend their interests to advance research in this field. The department expects to award up to six fellowships in Fall 2025. The fellowship selection committee serves as the annual progress review committee that awards subsequent years of funding based on progress.
This fund is made possible by a donation from David J. and Linda Archer Cornfield.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Hold an incoming average of at least 80%
- Have applied for the Systems Design Engineering PhD program starting in Fall 2025
- Plan to research sustainable energy systems in their PhD
What is Sustainable Energy?
In the context of this fellowship, systems of sustainability include technical, environmental, social, and economic dimensions of durable, efficient and long-lasting energy systems.
Sustainability encompasses technical, environmental, social, and economic dimensions of durable, efficient and long-lasting energy systems to create impactful solutions for a sustainable world.
Energy systems include all aspects of producing, delivering, and using energy for social and economic purposes. They combine energy sources, generation and delivery (transmission and distribution) with human decisions. Application areas may include but are not limited to, electric vehicles, batteries, life cycle analysis, energy storage systems, microgrids, smart grids, energy consumption reduction, and alternative energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, hydrogen, geothermal) for both industrial and household uses.
How to Apply
Completed applications should be merged into a single PDF file including the following:
- A completed application form
- A 1-page description of the applicant’s experience and motivation for studying sustainable energy systems
- A 1-page description of their proposed research focus/questions that will be pursued during their PhD study
- A support letter from a faculty supervisor in the Systems Design Engineering department, who agrees to provide the Faculty of Engineering minimum guaranteed PhD funding.
- Transcripts from prior graduate studies (students applying to PhD without a master’s must include undergraduate transcripts)
- Submit the PDF in the below form