DoctorRebecca Peer

Associate Head of Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

  • Associate Head of Department
    Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Senior Lecturer Above the Bar
    Civil and Environmental Engineering

BIO

I co-lead the Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG) with Dr Jannik Haas. This group has over 10 postgraduate researchers and is working on:


- Renewable Energy Integration
- Solar Engineering
- Power-to-X systems (including multi-energy and green hydrogen)
- Energy storage
- Energy transitions modelling
- Carbon-negative systems.

Apply now to join SERG!
We are always interested in outstanding candidates interested in energy and energy transitions.

I am currently looking for:

- Māori and Pasifika researchers interested in studying the sociotechnical implications of energy transitions (funded PhD position)

- Excellent candidates for the China Scholarship Council (CSC) PhD fellowship interested in energy systems research

More about my research:
My research interest is focused on infrastructure systems, with a focus on energy. I enjoy researching the relationship between energy and natural systems (e.g., water, land, climate) for current, planned, and future energy pathways. This includes assessments like carbon accounting, water footprinting, multi-criteria optimisation, and more. I also enjoy using data-driven methods for energy system analysis and use computational modelling, optimisation, and statistics in my work.

For other information about my work and student opportunities, please see my website:
www.rebeccapeer.com

TE WHARE WĀNANGA O WAITAHA - UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY APPOINTMENTS

  • Associate Head of Department
    University of Canterbury, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering1 May 2024 - present
  • Senior Lecturer Above the Bar
    University of Canterbury, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering4 Jun 2019 - present

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Group Leader
    University of Canterbury, Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG), New Zealand
  • Associate Researcher
    University of Canterbury, Electric Power Engineering (EPE) Centre, New Zealand
  • Associate Researcher
    University of Canterbury, Transport Research Hub, New Zealand

DEGREES

  • Doctor of Philosophy
    University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA14 Jul 2014 - 15 May 2019
  • Masters of Science
    University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA25 Aug 2014 - 13 May 2016
  • Bachelors of Science (Honours)
    Saint Francis University, Loretto, USA22 Aug 2011 - 11 May 2014

POSTGRADUATE TRAINING

  • Postdoctoral Researcher
    Carnegie Insitution for Science, Global Ecology, Stanford, USA3 Jun 2019 - 29 May 2020
    Energy systemsPostdoctoral ResearchSupervised by Caldeira K

LANGUAGES

  • French
    Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review

FACULTY

  • Faculty of Engineering

GRADUATE RESEARCH SUPERVISION

  • Registered to supervise Master's/Doctoral students

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

  • 13 Climate Action
  • 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

FIELDS OF RESEARCH