Environmental strategies on planning and designing road infrastructure
The analyses carried out focus on the development and use of life cycle assessment models to calculate the environmental footprint of road infrastructure in the early planning and design phases.
Reyn Joseph O’Born
PhD Candidate and Assistant Professor
Reyn Joseph O’Born at the Faculty of Engineering and Science has submitted his thesis entitled "Strategies and solutions for including life cycle emissions in planning Norwegian road infrastructure" and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Monday 25 November 2019.
He has followed the PhD programnme in Engineering and Science, with Specialisation in Renewable Energy.
Funding source for doctoral studies: The Norwegian Public Roads Administration - NPRA (Statens vegvesen).
Summary of the thesis by Reyn O'Born:
Strategies and solutions for including life cycle emissions in planning Norwegian road infrastructure
The international focus on climate change have forced governments and organisations around the world to find new and innovative ways to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.
Emissions reduction from road construction
Emissions reductions in infrastructure are an important part of the puzzle where construction activities conservatively represent more than 20 % of global annual carbon emissions.
In Norway, the government-managed Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) have been tasked with finding ways to drastically reduce their emissions from road construction and maintenance by the year 2030.
In response, NPRA has invested in research and begun the process of developing policies to promote the uptake of cleaner technologies, fuels, materials and processes.
Life cycle assessment models
Reyn O’Born’s dissertation “Strategies and solutions for including life cycle emissions in planning Norwegian road infrastructure” is concerned with determining the environmental impacts of road construction in a Norwegian context.
The dissertation analyses and discusses the solutions and strategies that NPRA can follow to reduce their emissions.
The analyses carried out focus on the development and use of life cycle assessment models to calculate the environmental footprint of road infrastructure in the early planning and design phases.
The real-world implementation of such models was also discussed within the framework of green public procurement and Norwegian emissions reductions targets for transport infrastructure.
The results of this thesis have shown that the use of life cycle assessment models can be helpful for calculating emissions but that these models must be sufficiently robust and simple to use in order to be useful during road planning.
Disputation facts:
The Candidate: Reyn O’Born (1987, Toronto, Canada). BA Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada, BA Global Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada MSc Industrial Ecology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, 2015 - 2018: PhD Candidate, Renewable energy, University of Agder, Norway. Now working as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Science, UiA, where he also are leading ENTERS UiA research group on Circular Economy.
The trial lecture and the public defence will take place at Auditorium C2 040, Campus Grimstad Monday 25 November 2019.
Dean at the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Michael Rygaard Hansen, will chair the disputation.
Trial lecture at 10:00 a.m.
Public defense at 12:00 noon
Given topic for trial lecture: “How can the Paris Agreement be reached by Norwegian road infrastructure?”
Thesis Title: “Strategies and solutions for including life cycle emissions in planning Norwegian road infrastructure”
Search for the thesis in AURA - Agder University Research Archive, a digital archive of scientific papers, theses and dissertations from the academic staff and students at the University of Agder. The thesis will also be available at the University Library, and some copies will also be available for loan at the auditorium where the disputation takes place.
Opponents:
First opponent: Associate Professor Lizhen Huang, NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Second opponent: Associate Professor Alexander Passer, Graz University of Technology, Austria
Associate Professor Morten Kjeld Ebbesen, UiA, is appointed as the administrator for the assessment commitee.
Supervisors were Professor Helge Liltved, UiA (main supervisor) and Karl Sigurd Fredriksen (now retired Project Manager at The Norwegian Public Roads Administration - NPRA (Statens vegvesen)) (co-supervisor)