Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

The Air Quality Life Index, or AQLI, is an award-winning, first-of-its-kind initiative that develops frontier research on pollution’s impact on life expectancy and communicates that research to policymakers, media, and citizens around the world. Developed by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), the AQLI is based on cutting-edge research by EPIC’s director Michael Greenstone that quantifies the causal relationship between human exposure to air pollution and reduced life expectancy. Combining this analysis with highly localized pollution measurements yields unprecedented insight into the true cost of air pollution in communities around the world. Through a virtual platform, users anywhere on Earth can zoom in to their community and understand the effect of the air they breathe on their life expectancy. Equipped with this data, policymakers, and members of the public can determine the benefits of policies to reduce pollution and take informed action. The AQLI’s virtual platform is fully available in English, Hindi, and Mandarin Chinese. Its data has been used to produce detailed pollution analysis for countries around the world in local languages, including Urdu, Indonesian, Thai, and more. These findings have been used to brief senior government leaders in some of the most polluted countries, and have received coverage from more than 300 media outlets, reaching more than 1.1 billion people globally in both top-tier and local outlets across print, digital, television, and radio platforms. Since its launch in 2018, the AQLI has featured prominently in air pollution discussions around the world and has played a role in clean air policy developments in multiple countries.

Job Summary


Reporting to EPIC Faculty Director Michael Greenstone, the Director-AQLI will be responsible for determining, managing, and successfully executing the next stage of the AQLI’s development. As the public face of the AQLI, the Director-AQLI is expected to play an active role in global discussions to raise awareness about the health impacts of air pollution, and the clean air policies that can reduce pollution. The Director-AQLI will manage the production of a steady stream of original and creative AQLI content, and also regularly present the AQLI to new audiences around the world. The Director-AQLI will collaborate with colleagues at EPIC and at UChicago to identify opportunities to implement cutting-edge research projects and to influence the design of clean air policies globally.

Education:

Ph.D. in economics, or a closely related field with demonstrated understanding of the development and/or energy economics.

Experience:

Background in global economic development and/or energy/environment research.
Participation in economic policymaking.
Management of research and communications staff.


Posting Statement


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