Dr Bahareh Kamranzad

Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Personal statement

Dr Kamranzad is a Chancellor’s Fellow (under the Global Talent Programme) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. Her research brings together ocean and coastal engineering, physical oceanography, climate science and artificial intelligence to advance the understanding and prediction of climate-driven changes in ocean and coastal systems, translating scientific knowledge into safer, more resilient and sustainable marine operations.

Integrating numerical modelling, climate projections and AI-based approaches, her work addresses three interconnected research areas: climate-driven changes in ocean dynamics and extremes, including Arctic marine heatwaves and sea ice; the resilience and sustainability of offshore wind and hybrid marine renewable energy systems; and intelligent ocean forecasting to support marine operations and decision-making. Together, these areas contribute to addressing critical challenges in climate adaptation, energy transition and maritime safety.

At Strathclyde, she leads the Ocean & Coastal Systems research group and has co-founded mArIneCAST, a multidisciplinary Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in AI-Based Ocean Forecasts for Marine Operations, and acts as a supervisor for EPSRC Industrial CDT in Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE) and Net Zero Technologies at the National Subsea Centre (NZTC) CDT. She also leads the Environmental Interactions Working Group (WG3) of the European COST Action SAFEWIND, addressing the environmental sustainability of offshore wind development. Her international research portfolio also includes a UArctic–Lloyd's Register Foundation Research Fellowship investigating the impacts of marine heatwaves on Arctic navigational safety.

Dr Kamranzad has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and established research collaborations across academia, industry and international scientific networks (SCOPUS). She serves as Deputy Editor of Ocean Engineering and on the Advisory Editorial Board of Coastal Engineering. She is also a member of the ClimateXChange Advisory Panel, contributing to connections between academic research and Scottish climate policy. Her contributions have been recognised through the 2023 Emerging Sustainability Leader Award and inclusion in the Stanford–Elsevier global top 2% scientists listings since 2020.

Before joining Strathclyde, she was an Assistant Professor at the prestigious Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, following a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship at Kyoto University's Disaster Prevention Research Institute. She also held a visiting academic appointment at Imperial College London. Dr Kamranzad has also co-founded Strathclyde-Japan group.

A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), she contributes to engineering education and doctoral training, including the reintroduction of Coastal Engineering (CL814) teaching at Strathclyde. She also coordinates the Individual Projects (CL448) and MEng Dissertation (CL516) modules.

Ongoing Research Activities

1.Arctic Climate Change and Maritime Safety

Principal Investigator, Impact of Marine Heatwaves on Sea Ice for Arctic Navigational Safety
Principal Investigator, Arctic Wave Climate Response to Global Warming
Contributor to the “UK Arctic Ocean and Coastal Research for IPY5; Knowledge Gaps, Ambitions and Capabilities” report (Theme 4: Hazards and Resilience), led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
Organising session “Resilience in a Changing Ocean: Bridging Nature-Based Approaches, Conservation Science, and Maritime Governance”, AGU-Ocean Sciences Meeting, 2025
Scottish Arctic Network (ScAN)

2. Offshore Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability

Working Group 3 Leader: COST Action Secure and Adaptive Frameworks for Environmentally sustainable Offshore WIND expansion (SAFEWIND)
Supervisor, PhD project Hybrid Renewable Energy in a Changing Climate
Co-supervisor, IDCORE (EPSRC Industrial CDT in Offshore Renewable Energy)
Co-founder, International Integrated Wave Energy Research (IIWER) Group

3. AI-Enhanced Ocean Forecasting and Marine Decision Support

Co-Founder, Strathclyde Centre for Doctoral Training (SCDT) in AI-Based Ocean Forecasts for Marine Operations
Co-supervissor, Net Zero Technologies at the National Subsea Centre (NZTC) CDT

4. Coastal Resilience and Climate Adaptation

Supervisor, PhD project Monitoring Coastal Systems: High-Resolution Techniques for Environmental Change Detection
Module Leader and Lecturer, CL814 – Coastal Engineering (10 credits), University of Strathclyde

On the Media & Public Outreach:

2026, UArctic x LRF Fellow: Strengthening Arctic Research Collaboration in Japan, UArctic News
2026, Dr Bahareh Kamranzad: why AI forecasting will matter more as Arctic shipping enters a less predictable era, SeaNews UK
2026, Strathclyde academic joins Royal Society Pairing Scheme 2026, University of Strathclyde News
2026, Navigating the "New Normal": Marine Heatwaves and the Future of Arctic Shipping, UArctic Shared Voices Magazine
2026, UArctic x LRF Fellows: Research Visit to Hokkaido University on Arctic Marine Heatwaves and Sea Ice, University of the Arctic News
2025, Marine heatwaves and sea ice: implications for Arctic navigational safety, Lloyd's Register Foundation
2025, University leads groundbreaking research on Arctic Sea temperature rise , University of Strathclyde News
Researcher part of global study on future climate threats to coastal oceans, University of Strathclyde News
2025, Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) Webinar, "Coastal Resilience in a Changing Climate Challenges and Opportunities"
2024, One Ocean Hub, From the coast to the ocean depths: co-developing innovative solutions for sustainable development
2024, Building Collaborative Relationships Between Researchers in Scotland and Japan
2023, Interview with 2023 Emerging Sustainability Leader Award Finalists
2023, MDPI Sustainability Talks, University of Basel
2.23, From “Maladaptation” to “Antifragility”: Coastal areas under the combined impact of changing climate and development of ocean renewables, Nature Portfolio Earth and Environment Community
2022, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Reaching Net-Zero Emissions with Ocean Renewable Energies
2022, Japan-China High-level Expert Symposium on Energy Transition,
2020, DAAD-Kyoto University partnership programme towards SDGs
2019, 【After Story No.02 & extra】KU Academia was invited to Japanese – German – French Conference: AI for SDGs organized by DWIH Tokyo
2019, DWIH Tokyo, AI for SDGs – How Can AI Help Solve Environmental Challenges? (Japanese-German-French Conference)
2019, Kyoto University IPCC weeks 2019 Report
2019, Roundtable discussion with the president of Kyoto University (in Japanese)

Expertise

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Prize And Awards

Royal Scoeity Pairing Scheme 2026: Recipient; 16/3/2026
Top 2% of Scientists Globally, recognised by Elsevier and Stanford University: Recipient; 2024
2023 Emerging Sustainability Leader Award: Recipient; 7/2023
Top 2% of Scientists Globally, recognised by Elsevier and Stanford University: Recipient; 2022
Top 2% of Scientists Globally, recognised by Elsevier and Stanford University: Recipient; 2021
Top 2% of Scientists Globally, recognised by Elsevier and Stanford University: Recipient; 2020

More prizes and awards

Publications

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Publications

Six decades of sea ice variability and the impact on Arctic shipping routes: Kamranzad Bahareh; UK "Ice" Special Interest Group, Challenger Society for Marine Science (2026)
Assessing future climate change impacts on marine renewable energy resources in the UK under a high emission scenario with CMIP6 and SWAN: McWhirter John-Luke, Kamranzad Bahareh, Lavidas George, Lemos Gil; Renewable Energy Vol 269 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2026.125813
Modulation of extreme storm surge events by large-scale climate modes across the Indo-Pacific: Saha Kamlesh Kumar, Kumar Prashant, Singh Anurag, Kamranzad Bahareh, Balakrishnan Nair TM, Rajni; Ocean Engineering Vol 362 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2026.126451
Long-term relationship between marine heatwaves and sea-ice variability in the Arctic ocean: Kamranzad Bahareh, Blockley Ed; 45th International Ocean Offshore and Arctic Engineering Conference (2026)
Predicting extreme storm surge along the Indian coastline using a physics-guided machine learning ensemble: Arju , Kumar Prashant, Kamranzad Bahareh, Balakrishnan TM, Rajni; Ocean Engineering Vol 357 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2026.125421
Utilising a deep learning approach for extreme wave height forecasting at Nazaré, Portugal: Moldovan Filo, Kamranzad Bahareh; JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2026 (2026)

More publications

Research

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Professional Activities

The Royal Society Pairing Scheme- Talk by Stephen Walsh: Organiser; 18/8/2026
Stephen Walsh: Host; 17/8/2026
University of Strathclyde Arctic Research Visit to the University of Tokyo: Recipient; 7/2026
Rain Mannikus: Host; 30/6/2026
CEE Departmental Seminars: Organiser; 30/6/2026
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST): Visiting researcher; 4/6/2026

More professional activities

Projects

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineering Hydrogen Net Zero EnerHy | Hamer, Richard: Carroll, James (Principal Investigator) Kamranzad, Bahareh (Co-investigator) Hamer, Richard (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2026 - 01-Jan-2030
COST Action: CA25138 - Secure and Adaptive Frameworks for Environmentally sustainable Offshore WIND expansion (SAFEWIND): Dethlef, Nina (Principal Investigator) Kamranzad, Bahareh (Co-investigator) Patelli, Edoardo (Co-investigator) Carroll, James (Co-investigator); Europe requires a seven-fold expansion of offshore wind (OSW) capacity by 2030 to achieve its ambitious net zero goals. Meeting this target in a way that is safe, resilient and sustainable requires new turbine structures but also solutions to bottlenecks in grid and port infrastructure, streamlined regulatory processes and optimisation of socio-economic benefits for coastal communities. Co-existence adds further complexity through OSW interactions with fisheries, sea users and marine ecosystems, where long-term impacts remain poorly understood. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has potential to enable transformative change to OSW site planning and logistics, impact assessment and workforce training. It can inform processes to overcome barriers across regulation, infrastructure, and coexistence. However, with growing automation of operational infrastructure, new vulnerabilities arise. Cybersecurity risks, such as external model manipulation, data theft, and unsafe agent behaviour, pose threats to turbines, grids, and autonomous vessels, and could undermining energy security. AI’s own environmental footprint has also come under scrutiny, highlighting the need for low-cost, energy-efficient algorithms. Moreover, climate change introduces deep uncertainty for OSW design and operations through shifts in wind patterns, rising sea levels, and intensifying storms that can complicate energy yield forecasts, structural health monitoring, and vessel access. AI can support adaptation by downscaling climate models, forecasting extreme events, and embedding risk-aware learning into digital twins. This COST Action convenes a balanced, inclusive, geographically-diverse network of experts. By highlighting gaps in data, knowledge, regulation, and best practice, it will create roadmaps towards safe, sustainable, digitally-enabled OSW growth and strengthen Europe’s OSW leadership.

Funding: €140K per year (duration: 4 years); 19-Jan-2026 - 18-Jan-2030
Towards Enhanced Coordination Of Disaster Risk Management And Governance Through A Holistic Framework For Multi-Level And Cross-Sectoral Interaction And Communication (TOGETHER): White, Chris (Principal Investigator) Kamranzad, Bahareh (Co-investigator) Tubaldi, Enrico (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2028
UDLA 2527 University of Strathclyde | Moldovan, Filoteea: Kamranzad, Bahareh (Principal Investigator) Henriquez-Mui, Fiona (Co-investigator) Moldovan, Filo (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2029
Monitoring Coastal Systems: High-Resolution Techniques for Environmental Change Detection: Kamranzad, Bahareh (Principal Investigator) Henriquez-Mui, Fiona (Co-investigator) Zou, Qingping (Co-investigator) Evans, Paul (Co-investigator); John Anderson Research Studentship Scheme (JARSS)-Research Excellence Award | EPSRC

This project focuses on using advanced monitoring technologies to study coastal dunes and shoreline dynamics, which are critical habitats and buffers against coastal hazards. Coastal dunes play a dual role in biodiversity conservation and as natural defences for inland areas. Climate change, through processes such as sea-level rise, increased storm intensity, and sediment instability, threatens these dynamic systems. By utilising high-resolution remote sensing technologies, this project will provide a detailed evaluation of sediment transport, shoreline morphology, and dune system dynamics over a 20–30 year timescale. It will generate actionable insights to support conservation and sustainable management of Scotland's coastal regions.

Funding: £78,914; 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2028
Arctic Wave Climate Response to Global Warming: Kamranzad, Bahareh (Principal Investigator); 31-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2027