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Niko Heeren

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Dr. Niko Heeren

Environmental & Data Scientist

About

I am a PostDoctoral researcher and lecturer at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Furthermore, I am an Associate Editor for Data at the Journal of Industrial Ecology.

My research focuses on the analysis and forecast of environmental impacts of socio-economic systems, such as building stocks. In my work I often combine methods and tools from the environmental and computational science disciplines to develop, for instance, probabilistic approaches for big data analysis.

Education

  • Doctor of Sciences in Environmental Engineering, 2017

    ETH Zurich

  • MSc ClimaDesign, 2011

    TU Munich

  • MAS Architecture & Développement Durable, 2008

    EPF Lausanne

  • BSc Environmental & Resource Management, 2006

    TU Cottbus

Skills

Building & Building stocks Analysis

Thermal simulation, BIM, certification, etc.

Open Sustainability Science

Research & Teaching in Industrial Ecology, LCA, MFA, etc.

Computer modelling

Python, SQL, GIS, Big data, etc.

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Postdoctoral Researcher

ETH Zurich, Chair of Ecological System Design

Nov 2019 – Present Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 

Postdoctoral Associate

Yale University, Center for Industrial Ecology

Jan 2018 – Oct 2019 New Haven, USA
 
 
 
 
 

Lecturer

ETH Zurich

Jan 2017 – Present Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 

Postdoctoral Researcher

ETH Zurich

Jan 2017 – Dec 2018 Zurich, Switzerland
Chair of Ecological System Design and Chair of Sustainable Construction
 
 
 
 
 

PhD Student

ETH Zurich, Chair of Ecological System Design, Institute of Environmental Engineering

Mar 2012 – Dec 2017 Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 

Teacher & Consultant in Building Simulation and Certification

E4tech Software Ltd. (Lesosai)

Jan 2010 – Dec 2019 Lausanne, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 

Research Assistant

ETH Zurich, Chair of Sustainable Construction, Institute of Construction & Infrastructure Management

Mar 2008 – Feb 2012 Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 

Guest Lecturer

École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Strasbourg

Mar 2008 – Jun 2010 Strasbourg, France

Blog

Updates, thoughts, and rants

End of 2019 IEDC Update

Yes – data science is hard, especially in the Industrial Ecology domain. Therefore, we launched the Industrial Ecology Data Commons …
Dec 18, 2019 1 min read

Projects

More info on projects coming soon

Resource Efficiency & Climate Change

Mandated by the G7 and United Nations International Resource Panel (UNEP-IRP) , we are investigating the potential benefits of Resource …

Swiss National Science Foundation NRP 66 Resource Wood

In 2010 the Swiss National Science Foundation launched athe National Research Programme 66 to investigate the potentials of wood as a …

Featured Publications

Browse all publications here 🔍

Resource Efficiency and Climate Change: Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low-Carbon Future

Full report and more details follow soon. This report was developed by the IRP in response to a request by leaders of the Group of 7 …
PDF Code Project DOI

Bridging the gap: enhancing material efficiency in residential buildings and cars

Research has shown that demand-side material efficiency offers substantial GHG mitigation opportunities that are complementary to those …
Project

Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics – A review

As one quarter of global energy use serves the production of materials, the more efficient use of these materials presents a …
PDF DOI

A Database Seed for a Community-driven Material Intensity Research Platform

The data record contains Material Intensity data for buildings (MI). MI coefficients are often used for different types of analysis of …
PDF Code DOI

Tracking Construction Material over Space and Time: Prospective and Geo-referenced Modeling of Building Stocks and Construction Material Flows

Construction material plays an increasingly important role in the environmental impacts of buildings. In order to investigate impacts …
PDF DOI

Topics

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Architecture BEEM-UP project Big data Biomass BIPV Building physics Building stock Carbon budget Carbon strorage Cement China Circular Economy Code Collaboration Criticality Data Data Science Dynamics Energy Europe Food German GHG GIS Greenhouse Household Industrial Ecology Infrastructure LCA Lighting Material Material-Energy Nexus MFA Model NRP 73 project NRP66 project Open access Open Science PhD Probabilistic Prospective Publishing PV RECC project Recycling Renewable Energy Report Resource Efficiency Retrofit Review Simulation Software Switzerland Transport United Nations Wood ZEB