Li Shen

Dr. Li Shen is an Associate Professor at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University since 2015. She holds the Energy & Resources group and has been active in sustainability assessment of materials and energy systems since completing her PhD in 2011.

Education:

• BEng (Mechanical Engineering, cum laude 1999, Shanghai)
• MSc (Sustainable Development, track Energy and Resources 2006, Utrecht University)
• PhD (2011, Utrecht University, thesis: Bio-based and Recycled Polymers for Cleaner Production – an Assessment of Plastics and Fibres)

Research Interests:
Dr. Shen specializes in Life Cycle Assessment and Technological Sustainability Evaluation of Bio-based Plastics, Plastics Recycling, Waste Management, and Nanomaterials. Her work bridges Environmental Science, Chemical Engineering, and Sustainable Development through rigorous system analysis.

Scientific Publications:

• Leading expert in Circular Economy applications for plastics
• Developed Ex-ante LCA frameworks for emerging materials
• Key contributor to PEF Bio-based Bottle sustainability analysis
• Active in Telescope Energy Systems sustainability
• Published in Nature Communications, Science of the Total Environment, and Journal of Cleaner Production

Teaching:
Responsible instructor for Advanced Energy Analysis in the Master Energy Science program. Also teaches Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Resources Use in the Global Sustainability Science bachelor program. Supervises numerous master thesis projects from Energy Science (ES), Sustainable Development (SD-EM), and Science for Energy Innovation (SBI) programs.