Work area

• Head of Group, Life Cycle Assessment & Modelling
   
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Sustainability of Biofuels / Bioenergy

 
Special skills

• SimaPro, ArcGIS, ArcInfo, Erdas IMAGINE, eCognition, Statistik (SPSS, Statistica), MS Access, FileMaker

  
Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Rainer Zah, born in Winterthur/Switzerland in 1968, is head of the group Life Cycle Assessment & Modelling at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA). He holds a Master in Environmental Sciences and a PhD in Aquatic Ecology from ETH Zürich. Rainer Zah is involved in various projects on the Environmental Impact Assessment of Biofuels and Bioenergy on the Swiss, European and Global level with a special focus on the North-South-Dimension. His personal research interest deals with the spatial dimension of environmental impacts induced by new technologies along the full product cycle.

Rainer Zah is scientific expert of the CO2-working group of the Roundtable of Sustainable Biofuels; member of the advisory board of „Risk Governance Guidelines for Bioenergy Policies“ for the International Risk Governance Council – IRGC; member of the OECD-Roundtable on Biofuels „Linking Support to Performance“ member of the steering board of Ecoinvent; consultant for the Swiss government in implementing the tax redemption for sustainable biuofuels.

Reviewed papers (SCI)

Avelar, S., Zah, R., Tavares-Correa, C. (2008). Linking socioeconomic classes and land cover data in Lima, Peru: As-sessment through the application of remote sensing and GIS. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, in press.

Ossés, M., R. Zah, R. Triviño and H. Hurni (2008). "Spatial accuracy of a simplified disaggregation method for traffic emissions applied in seven mid-sized Chilean cities." Atmospheric Environment 42: 1491-1502.

Tuia, D., M. Ossès de Eicker, R. Zah, M. Osses, E. Zarate and A. Clappier (2007). "Evaluation of a simplified top-down model for the spatial assessment of hot traffic emissions in mid-sized cities." Atmospheric Environment 41(17): 3658-3671.

Malard, F., U. Uehlinger, R. Zah and K. Tockner (2006). "Flood-pulse and riverscape dynamics in a braided glacial river." Ecology 87(3): 704-716.

Zah, R., P. Burgherr, S.M. Bernasconi & U. Uehlinger (2001): Stable isotope analysis of macroinvertebrates and their food sources in a glacier stream. Freshwater Biology: 46: 871-882.

Zah, R., M. Niederöst, H. Rinderspacher, U. Uehlinger & J.V. Ward (2001): Long-term dynamics of the channel network in a proglacial floodplain, Val Roseg, Switzerland. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 33(4): 440-446.

Zah, R. and U. Uehlinger (2001): Particulate organic matter inputs to a glacial stream system in the Swiss Alps. Freshwater Biology: 46: 1597-1608.

Tockner, K., Malard, F., Burgherr, P., Robinson, C.T., Uehlinger, U., Zah, R. & Ward, J.V. (1997): Physico-chemical characterisation of channel types in a glacial floodplain ecosystem (Val Roseg, Switzerland). Arch. Hydrobiol.: 140: 433-463.

Reviewed papers (SCIE)

Zah, R. (2007). "Energy and Raw Materials - The Contributions of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the Future: Biofuels -Which One is the Most Ecological One?" Chimia 61(9): 571-572.

Zah, R., R. Hischier, A. L. Leão and I. Braun (2007). "Curauá fibres in the automobile industry - a sustainable assessment." Journal of Cleaner Production 15: 11-12.

Noger D., Schmid H.R., Zah R., Grether T. & Dinkel F. (2005): Suitability of the Traditional Jute Classification System for Composite Applications. Indian Journal of Textiles.

Zah, R., R. Hischier, A. L. Leão and I. Braun (2007). "Curauá fibres in the automobile industry - a sustainable assessment." Journal of Cleaner Production 15: 11-12.

Zah, R., P. Burgherr, S.M. Bernasconi & U. Uehlinger (2000): Contribution of organic resources to a glacial stream (Val Roseg, Swiss Alps) - a stable isotope study. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol.: 27: 1635-1639.