Strathclyde is home to a significant number of experts who are working to reduce the environmental impact of energy use, improve energy efficiency, respond to declining fossil fuel supplies and manage a just transition towards a fairer and greener future. Meet a selection of them here.
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Professor Sir Jim McDonald
Sir Jim McDonald is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde and the President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
He is one of Scotland’s most accomplished engineers, and co-chairs the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board, with the First Minister.
Sir Jim is Chairman of the Independent Glasgow Economic Leadership Board and holds senior business appointments with the Weir Group, Scottish Power, the UK Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and the UK National Physical Laboratory.
Dr Rebecca Ford, Chancellor's Fellow
I joined the University of Strathclyde in 2019 as a Chancellor's Fellow working jointly between the Departments of Government & Public Policy and Electronic & Electrical Engineering. I am also the Research Director of the UK’s Energy Revolution Research Consortium (EnergyREV). Prior to this I held positions at the University of Oxford, the University of Otago in New Zealand (where I served as Deputy Director of their Centre for Sustainability) and at Victoria University of Wellington.
My research explores how people interact with energy systems, and how social, environmental, and technological insights can be co-developed to better inform policy for sustainable development. I take a multidisciplinary approach to my work, and believe in the importance of research for impact, and in bridging the gap between different forms of knowledge to advance solutions tackling climate change.
Dr Francesco Sindico, Founder and Co-Director of the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance
Francesco's main areas of work include:
- International Climate Change Law
- International Water Law
- Sustainable Development
- Island Law and Policy
Francesco is leading the Climate Change Litigation Initiative (C2LI) together with the University of Geneva and the National University of Singapore. C2LI will lead first to a book on climate change litigation and then to a policy-oriented virtual platform aimed at exploring climate change litigation in countries with little or no litigation using a scenario-based methodology.
Dr Nick Kelly, Reader, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Dr Nick Kelly is co-director of the Energy Systems Research Unit (ESRU) and a Reader in the Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He has been involved in low carbon and latterly zero-carbon energy systems research since the mid-90’s. His research activities are varied but primarily focus on a net-zero built environment. Current research work includes: investigating approaches to, and the impact of the decarbonisation of heat (through electrification and the use of hydrogen); engendering flexibility in building energy demands through energy storage; the design, testing and monitoring of building-integrated renewable generation; improving the prediction of current and future energy demands; and investigating novel methods to minimise greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural buildings.
Dr Kelly is a recognised international expert in the modelling and simulation of building and energy systems performance. He develops models and tools for use by the research and design communities, and also uses modelling and simulation extensively in his own research. He is the Scottish chair of the International Building Performance Association (IBPSA) and an IBPSA board member, he co-ordinates the University of Strathclyde’s Energy Strategic Theme and is the Strathclyde Representative on the Scottish Universities’ Energy Technology Partnership (ETP).
Professor Becky Lunn, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Prof Becky Lunn (MBE, FREng, FRSE, FICE) is the Royal Academy of Engineering and BAM Nuttall Research Chair in Biomineral Technologies for Ground Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. She has led >£7M of research, with an emphasis on the development of low carbon technologies for ground engineering, with specific applications in construction, nuclear decommissioning, nuclear waste disposal and geological carbon storage. She is an experienced advisor to Government, including past membership of the UK Committee on Radioactive Waste Management and the Scottish Government Working Group on Geothermal Energy Production.
She is a Trustee of the Saltire Society, a member of the National Engineering Policy Centre Working Group on Net-Zero Carbon and a recent advisor to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on Engineering and the Circular Economy.
Professor Michael Mehling, Professor of Practice
School of Law
Professor Michael Mehling is a Professor of Practice at the University of Strathclyde School of Law. He holds a simultaneous appointment as the Deputy Director of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Previously, he was founding President of the Ecologic Institute in Washington DC, an environmental think tank with partner offices in Berlin and Brussels. In these roles, he has coordinated research and advisory projects for international organizations, government agencies, and civil society organizations in North America, Europe, and the developing world.
He currently serves as a non-executive director with Ecologic Institute in Berlin, a Manager of the Konrad-von-Moltke Fund in Berlin, a Member of Climate Strategies in London, and a founding board member of Ecologic Institute in Washington DC, the Blockchain & Climate Institute (BCI) in London, and the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST) in Brussels. He is also an Associate Researcher with the Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) at the University of Cambridge, an Associate with Vivid Economics in London, and Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly Carbon & Climate Law Review (CCLR).
Areas of expertise:
- Climate and Energy
- Economic Law and Governance
Professor Keith Bell, Professor of Smart Grids & co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre
Keith Bell joined the University of Strathclyde in 2005 having previously worked as a researcher in Bath, Manchester and Naples and as a system development engineer in the electricity supply industry in Britain. He was appointed to the ScottishPower Chair in Smart Grids in late 2013 and became one of the co-Directors of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) in 2014. Since in April 2019 he has been a member of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, an independent, statutory body established in 2008 to advise the UK and devolved governments on climate change.
Keith is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and one of two Scientific Directors of the Electrical Infrastructure Research Hub established by the University of Strathclyde with the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and the University of Manchester.
He is active in the Conseil International des Grands Réseaux Electriques (CIGRE), and a member of the Executive Boards of the Power Systems Computation Conference and the IET Power Academy, an initiative to promote electric power engineering as a graduate career in the UK.
At the University, Keith leads a group researching challenges and opportunities around decarbonisation of the energy system. He has advised the British Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) and the governments of Scotland, the UK and Ireland and on power system engineering and regulatory issues as well as being active in research projects in collaboration with UK and European industry and academic partners.
Professor Elisa Morgera, Law
Elisa Morgera is Professor of Global Environmental Law and the Director of the UKRI GCRF One Ocean Hub. She is a member of the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance.
She specializes in international, European and comparative environmental law, with a particular focus on the interaction between biodiversity law and human rights (particularly those of indigenous peoples and local communities), equity and sustainability in natural resource development, oceans governance, and corporate accountability. Elisa has also researched the environmental dimensions of the external relations of the European Union (EU).
Elisa has researched the implications of these areas of international law and practice for climate change, with a particular focus on human rights-based and ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Dr Jen Roberts, Chancellor's Fellow
Dr Jen Roberts is a Chancellor’s Fellow in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. Jen works in the interdisciplinary field of energy systems and technical, social and environmental risk - with particular focus on Earth resources (for geological CO2 storage, hydrogen storage, geothermal) as well as water provision and green infrastructure. A strong theme of her work is whole systems impacts and benefits for integrated and improved decision making, and participatory approaches and decision tools to support multiple sustainability outcomes. Ultimately her research aims to inform a just transition to a sustainable future.
Professor Michael Ward, Di, rector & Chief Technical Officer, ANRC
Professor Michael Ward has a dual role as both Chief Technology Officer for our Advanced Nuclear Research Centre and Director of Industrial Strategy for the University. As CTO of the ANRC Michael is focused on providing strategic technical direction, promote collaborative research and development activity and securing further funding.
As Director of Industrial Strategy, Michael works with the central team, colleagues across the university, industry and other key stakeholders to help build a Strathclyde approach to industrial strategy. The university has a broad range of advanced manufacturing activities across the University and its various research centres. Co-ordinating activities will help us access and support our industry partners more fully and secure larger funding opportunities.
Previously as Technical Director -AFRC Michael was responsible for leading and developing the Technology Strategy and to enable the future growth of the centre through winning new business.
Professor Sonja Oliveira, Architecture
Sonja Oliveira has over 20 years internationally leading design innovation and research experience in the architecture and sustainability sector, having led delivery of complex multidisciplinary projects ranging in value from £200k-£29mil in the UK and internationally. She has an established international reputation in socio-spatial intelligent energy governance and climate action thought leadership. She founded the Radical Architecture Practice for Sustainability network (http://www.rapsresearch.com) in partnership with leading design practitioners and researchers in Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Austria and France. She is a Thought Leadership Specialist Advisor to the Design Council and a board member of the World Green Building Council (Serbia), as well as scientific and industry advisory member of numerous scientific committees including the newly launched New European Bauhaus Collective.
Currently, Sonja is leading delivery of multiple research and innovation projects (value in 2020/2021 in excess of £1.2mil) aiming to transform interrelated energy governance systems to account for complex multi-phenomenon and multi-scale interconnected encounters between humans, nonhumans, spatial, socio-technological and environmental dimensions of everyday life. She takes a multidisciplinary approach to her work drawing on socio-spatial methods in architecture and design as well as computation, biomimetics, engineering and sociology to advance innovation and develop new knowledge in a climate changed societal context. Her recent work carried out for accelerating design innovation capability and capacity for socially responsible net-zero housing delivery was presented as invited keynote at the Westminster Social Forum in Dec 2020.
Professor Karen Turner, Director Of The Centre For Energy Policy
Karen Turner is Professor and Director of the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde, where she leads a portfolio of work UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), philanthropic organisations such as the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Bellona Foundation and various government and industry bodies. Karen’s main research interests lie in investigating and modelling the economy-wide and macroeconomic consequences of energy policy and industry developments, and considering how these may be effected, and consensus built around policy narratives, to enable the deployment of different decarbonisation solutions.
She has published extensively in policy and economics literatures on topics such as making the case for public support of residential energy efficiency programmes and addressing public policy challenges in unlocking value from the deployment of large scale decarbonisation solutions such as electric vehicles and carbon capture and storage. Karen has previously held academic posts at Glasgow and Heriot Watt Universities and is currently a member of the Scottish Government’s Just Transitions Commission.
Dr Aruna Ivaturi, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Faculty of Science
I'm an EPSRC Fellow, Chancellor’s Fellow and Senior Lecturer leading the Smart Materials Research and Device Technology Group at Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde. I'm Strathclyde's Energy Sub-Theme (Photovoltaics) coordinator.
I'm also one of the founding PIs of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Sustainable Practices of Research in Energy (C-INSPRE), a new and innovative interdisciplinary Strathclyde Centre for Doctoral Training (SCDT) that links all four faculties of the University of Strathclyde. C-INSPRE is Strathclyde's first 'Energy CDT'. My group’s work is focused on developing nanomaterials and devices based on them especially for the Energy, Environment and Healthcare Sectors.
In the Energy sector, with focus on addressing climate change and targeting net-zero transitions:
- We are developing moldable solar cells using low-cost solution processes to harvest indoor light to generate power. The focus is on developing highly efficient elastic perovskite solar cells which can be integrated on the artificial skin of robotic parts to power the inbuilt sensors and other low-power electronics. Such devices have potential applications in a number of fields include powering IoT sensors. The project involves collaborators from the University of Oxford, Scottish Microelectronic Centre & School of Chemistry at University of Edinburgh and Johannes Kepler University Linz from academia and Shadow Robotics, NSG Pilkington, Dupont Teijin Films and G24 Power as the Industry partners [Funded by EPSRC/UKRI]
- We are developing electrochemical Supercapacitors using plant-based Biomass waste (crop waste) and Plastic waste-derived graphene like activated carbon. The focus is to address the climate change challenges originating due to crop residue burning and those created due to inappropriate plastic waste disposal (Funded by SFC GCRF and C-INSPRE SCDT, Zero waste Scotland and Scottish Institute for Remanufacturing)
Dr Roddy Yarr, Executive Lead for Sustainability
Roddy Yarr is Executive Lead for Sustainability. Roddy is responsible for the development and delivery of climate change and social responsibility initiatives that address the University’s response to net zero and sustainability issues across all of its operational assets in west central Scotland.
Roddy leads the Sustainable Strathclyde team which is delivering the University’s Climate Change and Social Responsibility Plan and net zero targets. Roddy successfully led the delivery of the £20M District Heating project at the main campus and developed the design and funding programme that has enabled the delivery of the University’s first energy carbon neutral building in operation at the new National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.
Roddy has also developed an innovative, bold and collaborative ‘Climate Neutral Districts’ vision deploying 100% renewable heat, power, active travel, adaptation and well being solutions across all University assets in the central belt of Scotland. The vision is a partnership approach to enable ‘scale and speed’ of climate action in Glasgow and region, with people at the centre.
Roddy advises the Sustainable Glasgow Partnership Group and is on the board of Climate Ready Clyde and the Clyde Climate Forest Programme Group. He also leads the Clyde Mission ‘Net Zero’ Group that is seeking to decarbonise the Clyde Corridor. He is an external advisor to the Scottish Parliament’s Sustainability Board. He has also recently been appointed as an External Advisor and Board member of the West Dunbartonshire Energy Board LLP.
Dr David Grierson, Department of Architecture
Faculty of Engineering
Dr David Grierson is Reader and Deputy Head of Architecture at Strathclyde, and has led the Faculty’s postgraduate programme in Sustainable Engineering since 2004.
Over the past 30 years David has delivered teaching on ecocities and sustainable architecture and carried out research work on these topics across four continents. Having supervised around thirty postgraduate researchers, published widely, and acted as technical reviewer on behalf of six European Research Councils related to various sustainable development goals, he currently leads the Design & Sustainability (CRiDS) research group in Architecture.
David’s research work with his PhD students has been recognised in two selected entries within the ‘Telling the Story’ category in the COP26 UK Universities’ Climate Innovation Showcase. Earlier this year he was invited to present to MSPs, and business & industry leaders, at the Scotland Policy Conference: Next step for planning reform in Scotland. David contributed his film and music project, ‘Softer Footprints’, described by the Chair as, “both harrowing and enlightening”.
David served on the Steering Committee at Arcosanti in Arizona, described by the Washington Post as, “probably the most important urban experiment in our lifetime”, and he is currently an expert consultant to Guinness World Records.
Dr Jannik Giesekam, Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Dr Jannik Giesekam is a Chancellor’s Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research focusses on the policy and practices required to deliver a net zero carbon built environment and a more circular economy. He has undertaken work for the Green Construction Board, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Committee on Climate Change and the Scottish Government, including the development and provision of National Indicators.
He has contributed to guidance documents, served on steering groups and acted as a technical reviewer for groups such as the UK Green Building Council, the Institution of Structural Engineers and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He also undertakes a small number of consultancy projects each year for clients such as Zero Waste Scotland, the Rail Safety and Standards Board and the International Finance Corporation. He received the 2019 Richard Trevithick Fund Prize from the Institution of Civil Engineers for his work on embodied carbon and is actively involved in a range of cross industry initiatives such as The Embodied Carbon Group, the Net Zero Infrastructure Industry Coalition, and the ICE’s Carbon Project.
Dr Tracy Morse, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Development
Dr Tracy Morse is Senior Lecturer and Head of Strathclyde Centre for Sustainable Development. Having previously been based in Malawi for 20 years, she leads an interdisciplinary research team with a focus on addressing the determinants of health in low and middle-income countries.
Working with a number of partners globally, she is focussed on promoting the importance of transdisciplinary research in addressing sustainable development for all, and supporting the transformational change needed to support attainment of UN SDGs.
Dr Christopher White, Head of the Centre for Water, Environment, Sustainability & Public Health
Chris leads the Engineering for Extremes research group that focuses on understanding extreme weather events and hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods and droughts, their impact on the built and natural environments in a changing climate, and the development and application of climate services for improved decision-making and climate resilience.
His research interests are cross-disciplinary, including the emerging fields of multi-hazard compound and cascading events, impact-based forecasting, and the prediction and application of predictions on extended-range weather and climatic timescales. He is part of the Management Committee of the European COST Action CA17109 on compound events, and is co-leading a new applications sub-project of the World Meteorological Organization’s WWRP/WCRP S2S Prediction Project.
Internationally, Dr White is the Secretary of the International Commission on Coupled Land-Atmosphere Systems (ICCLAS), one of the ten commissions of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS).
Chris hosts the University’s Innovate Strathclyde podcast which discusses the latest research and innovations with Scotland’s own experts as we transition towards a net zero economy and a more sustainable and resilient future.
Professor Stuart Galloway, Electronic & Electrical Engineering
I joined the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Strathclyde in 1998, and am currently a Reader in Electrial and Electronic Engineering.
Based within the Advanced Electrical Systems group within the Institute for Energy and Environment (InstEE), I currently lead two research groups, the first in Novel Electrical Systems and the second in Data Analytics. My research is concerned with multi-domain modelling of aircraft, marine and micro-grid applications and the data analytics related to smart energy, smart grid and behavioural change.
As such, the research spans two of the defining themes of the University’s Technology and Innovation Centre, namely, Power & Energy and Human & Social Aspects of Technology.
Mark Gayfer
A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering Technology, Mark has 30 years’ experience in the operation, management and support of complex systems in the maritime and nuclear sectors.
As a Professor of Practice and CEO of the University of Strathclyde Advanced Nuclear Research Centre, he oversees the delivery of a multi-disciplinary research programme which, working closely with industry, focuses on the asset management of civil nuclear power stations as well as decommissioning and waste disposal.
Dr Jacqueline Redmond, Executive Director, PNDC
Jacqueline has over 25 years international experience in senior positions with energy majors, with expertise in risk management, business development and technology innovation. Jacqueline is chair of CENSIS, one of Scotland’s innovation centres focused on sensing and imaging technology, and on the Board for the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB).
Professor Scott Cunningham
Scott Cunningham is Professor of Policy and Planning at the School of Government and Public Policy. His own research incorporates elements of model-based decision-making as well as approaches based upon open source intelligence. He has worked on Horizon 2020 projects involving community resilience in the face of technological change.
He has consulted with the European Commission on monitoring research in support of sustainable development goals, and has applied data science approaches to range of environmental topics. These topics include land use, demographic change, and transportation patterns. A systems thinking approach is required to deliver an integrated analysis of climate and environment, and to enable the design and selection of appropriate mitigation mechanisms.
Professor Lori McElroy
Lori McElroy (MBE, PhD, Hon FRIAS, FIBPSA, MCIBSE) is Professor of Smart, Resilient Cities in the Department of Architecture at the University of Strathclyde.
Lori is an engineer with an international reputation in the application of integrated performance appraisal for the betterment of architecture and sustainable design. She has been active in the energy and environment field for over 25 years both in practice and research, working in the private and public sectors.
Lori has focussed her career on changing the way construction professionals do business: from supporting the use of innovative and novel performance assessment techniques in practice; to providing wide ranging support and advice to industry and building clients on policy development and implementation. This includes delivery of three state-of-the-art academic/industry collaborative programmes for the UK and Scottish Governments and the dissemination of this work internationally. She was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to sustainable construction.
Lori is the current Chair of the Existing Homes Alliance and is a regular advisor to Scottish Government on joining up delivery of low carbon energy policy, building standards, while balancing the challenges behavioural impacts and the links between decarbonisation strategies and poverty.
Lori is the current President of the International Building Performance Simulation Association and is active in numerous IEA, EU funded H2020 and Horizon Europe projects. She is a currently a scientific expert advisor to the Research Council of Norway on project assessment and evaluation of grant proposals.
Professor Feargal Brennan, Head Of Department
Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering
Feargal Brennan is the James Blyth Professor of Offshore Engineering at the University of Strathclyde and Head of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering. He is the Director and Principal Investigator of the Strathclyde-Oxford-Cranfield Renewable Energy Marine Structures (REMS) Doctoral Training Centre and Research Director of the Wind & Marine Systems and Structures (WAMSS) Centre for Doctoral Training hosted by Strathclyde with Edinburgh and Oxford partner universities.
Feargal is the Offshore Wind Champion for the EPSRC Flagship Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy research programme and Principal Investigator of the major new Ocean-Refuel EPSRC project developing fundamental underpinning understanding of Green Hydrogen derived from Offshore Wind and Marine Renewable Energy.
Professor Brennan sits on the UK Government’s BEIS Science Expert Group supporting its Chief Scientific Advisor, he is a member of SOWEC (The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council) and of the Net Zero Technology Centre Academic Panel and is the UK standing member and leader of the UK delegation to the ISSC (International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress).
Dr Paul Tuohy
Paul Tuohy contributes to the modelling, planning and delivery of 100% renewable and sustainable energy systems at regional, district, community and building scale delivering economic, health, ecological and societal benefits. Currently leading the EU ERA-Net Smart Integrated Energy Systems by 2022 (SIES2022) project. Projects include: UK Building Market Transformation, EU Passivhaus, EU Orchestration of Renewable Generation in Neighbourhoods (ORIGIN), IEA ECES Annex 31 'Low Carbon Buildings and Districts: Optimisation and Automation', EPSRC and Scot Gov Occupant Behaviour and Environmental Quality, and ESRC 'Energy Frontiers'.
Dr Tuohy contributed to the Scottish Governments 'Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland', served as a board member for the UK Passivhaus Trust, and coordinated the Scottish Energy Systems Group (SESG). He supports many industry and other organisations in sustainable energy transition and has over 75 publications in this area. Previous relevant experience in industry management and technology roles in UK and US.
Mairi Spowage
Mairi Spowage is a Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow and the Deputy Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute. Her areas of expertise include economic policy, economic statistics, national accounting, public sector finances, and economic and fiscal forecasting.
Richard Bellingham, Director, Institute for Future Cities
My focus is on projects and teaching that can improve the quality of human life in cities across the world. I enjoy delivering research and consultancy that delivers tangible positive and meaningful impact for citizens globally.
Particular areas of focus include development of programmes and strategies to make cities more sustainable and resilient; the creation of healthier urban environments; the use of data analytics to optimise the design of city systems and infrastructure; and the design of smarter cities.
A fast-growing sector for us currently is international development - with a focus on the achievement of sustainable development goals through creation of holistic urban development strategies in developing world countries.
Professor Zoe Shipton, Civil & Environmental Engineering
My research is concerned with the structural and permeability architecture of faults. Understanding 3D fault structure is key to answering many questions concerning the evolution of fault zone structures and the migration of fluids through the Earth's crust. My research focuses on four main areas
1) How do faults act as high permeability conduits?
2) Low permeability faults often produce hydrocarbon traps or barriers to fluid flow.
3) Earthquakes are the tangible evidence of relative movements across fault zones.
4) How can we constrain uncertainty in geological models?
Each of these problems can be addressed by detailed characterization of fault zone structures and their permeability and physical properties. My research has a strong multidisciplinary approach and includes collaborations with geologists, civil and environmental engineers and statisticians.
Dr Gareth Johnson, Research Fellow, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Gareth is a Research Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. He is geologist with expertise in energy geosciences and CO2 removal. He has experience from both industry and academia applied to CO2 storage and negative emission technologies, geothermal energy and energy storage.
Gareth works at the interface of academia, industry and policy and take a systems engineering approach to understanding the role of the subsurface in the energy transition and in meeting net zero targets. Recent projects include working on Direct Air Capture of CO2 in Iceland and the use of geothermal heat from coal mine for bio-plastics production.
Gareth works closely with the Geological Society of London where he is a member of the Decarbonisation Working Group and with BEIS where he is a steering committee member of the CCUS Young Professionals Forum.
Professor Olimpo Anaya-Lara, Electronic & Electrical Engineering
My area of expertise is on power system dynamics and modeling and control of wind power plant to support power system operation. I am member of the Management Team of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind and Marine Energy Systems and Course Director of the MSc in Wind Energy Systems. I am a key participant to the Wind Integration Sub-Programme of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) Joint Programme Wind (JP Wind) leading Strathclyde’s involvement and contribution to this Sub-Programme. During 2010-2011 I was Visiting Professor in Wind Energy at NTNU, Trondheim, Norway funded by Det Norske Veritas. I have published 4 technical books in power systems control and wind energy electrical systems.
Qiteng Hong, Lecturer (Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow)
Dr Qiteng Hong is presently a Chancellor’s Fellow (Lecturer) in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE) at the University of Strathclyde. His research focus is on novel solutions for protection and control to enable zero-carbon operation of future power systems. Dr Hong received his BEng (Hons) degree in EEE from Strathclyde and was the top graduate of the year in 2011. He received his PhD funded by National Grid on power system protection also from Strathclyde in 2015. Dr Hong has successfully led/completed more than 25 research projects relating to low-carbon power systems, and secured research funding over £4M with more than 50 publications in international journals and conferences.
Dr Hong was the Technical Lead for the CIGRE UK Next Generation Network (NGN) from 2016-2019 and the Honorary Secretary for the IET Scotland South West Committee during 2015-2018. He is now the webinar lead in the CIGRE NGN International Executive Committee, a Regular Member in the CIGRE Working Group (WG) B5.50 and a member of IEEE WG P2004. He was also the one of the main founders Global Young Member Showcase initiative and led the organisation of the events in CIGRE Paris Sessions in 2016 and 2018.
Jamie Stewart, Deputy Director, Centre for Energy Policy
Jamie is Deputy Director at the Centre for Energy Policy (CEP) at the University of Strathclyde. He joined CEP in March 2020, with his role focussing on knowledge exchange and impact. He has 10 years of experience working across the energy and climate agendas and over 3 years of experience working in consumer energy policy and advocacy in the third sector.
He has particular policy and research expertise on energy and climate issues such as heat decarbonisation, energy efficiency, energy networks and infrastructure development. He is passionate about supporting policy to ensure a socially just energy transition and has frequently raised the profile of the issue through the mainstream media in Scotland. Jamie has an academic background, where his research focused on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and understanding the role it can play in meeting net zero targets.
He sits on a number of advisory groups related to the energy and climate change agenda, such as Scottish Power Energy Networks Transmission User Group and Scottish Water’s Independent Customer Group.
Dr Elsa João, Senior Lecturer
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Dr Elsa João is the course leader for our MSc in Sustainability & Environmental Studies, and the MSc in Environmental Entrepreneurship. Elsa has expertise in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), enhancement of positive impacts, sustainability, bioeconomy and the circular economy. Her current research focuses on how enhancement can improve project design and strategic planning and how best to implement the circular economy. She set up the first postgraduate class on the Circular Economy at the University of Strathclyde.
Dr Andrea Coulson, Reader
Accounting & Finance
Dr Andrea Coulson's research and teaching interests include social and environmental accounting and accounting for risk. She has a special interest in exploring the notion of multiple capitals and theories of value, in particular through interdisciplinary research. Andrea applies her research to empirical investigations of social welfare, protection of human rights and engagement on environmental risk and 'materiality thresholds for climate adaptation. Andrea has over fifteen years experience of working with the financial services sector on perceptions of social and environmental risks and valuations.
Dr Matt Hannon, Senior Lecturer, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship
Dr Matthew Hannon works as a Senior Lecturer at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strathclyde Business School. His research examines the business models, policies and technologies necessary to accelerate the transition to a socially equitable, net-zero economy. He is a co-investigator on UKRI’s £10m EnergyREV consortium on smart, locally led energy systems, and the UK Energy Research Centre’s ‘Whole Person - Whole Place’ net-zero neighbourhood solutions project. Matthew has published in ‘Financial Times 50’ ranked journals and co-authored two books on innovation to accelerate the energy revolution. He has written reports on behalf of the World Energy Council and been cited in government and parliamentary reports.
His work has enjoyed extensive media coverage (e.g. BBC, Forbes) and he has also provided commentary for national newspapers (e.g. i news). He sits on Scottish Power Energy Networks’ Customer Engagement Group to inform their five year business plan for Ofgem’s RIIO-ED2, as well as USwitch’s Green Tariff Accreditation Panel. He is a council member of the British Institute of Energy Economics, chair and trustee of the community energy charity South Seeds and an Honorary Member of the Green Angel Syndicate. Finally, he is co-founder and host of the Local Zero podcast, which champions local action to tackle climate change and profiled as the Times Pod of the Week.
Dr James Carroll, Senior Lecturer
Electronic & Electrical Engineering
I am a Senior Lecturer and former Strathclyde Chancellor’s Fellow in the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering. I obtained my PhD in Wind Energy Maintenance Modelling and Turbine Reliability from the EPSRC Wind Energy Systems CDT, hosted at the University of Strathclyde. Following my PhD I was awarded an EPSRC Doctoral Prize to research wind turbine component failure and remaining useful life prediction. I continue to carry out research in both the areas of my PhD and Post Doc, as well as the area of novel wind turbine concept development.
Professor Lie Xu, Electronic & Electrical Engineering
Prof. Lie Xu joined University of Strathclyde in 2013 and currently is the head of the Power Electronics and Energy Conversion Research Group. He is internationally recognized as one of the leading researchers in the field of applying power electronics to renewable power integration and power transmission using HVDC systems. He started his career with ALSTOM T&D UK developing VSC based HVDC system in early 2000s, and has led significant numbers of research projects on HVDC system and offshore wind power integration and DC network supported by RCUK, EU H2020, and industries.
He has published over 200 academic papers, and has an h-index of 49 with over 14,000 citations (Google Scholar). He was recently ranked among the top 50 scientists in the world in the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the 2020 list of “World's Top 2% Leading Scientists” by Stanford University. He is also an editor of IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion and IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, and an Associate Editor of the IET Renewable Power Generation.
Dr Agustí Egea-Àlvarez, Senior Lecturer
Electronic & Electrical Engineering
Dr Agustí Egea-Àlvarez is a Senior Lecturer at the electronic & electrical engineering department and member of the PEDEC (Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Conversion) group. He obtained his BSc, MSc and PhD from the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona in 2008, 2010 and 2014 respectively.
In 2015 he was a Marie Curie fellow in the China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI). In 2016 he joined Siemens Gamesa as converter control engineer working on grid forming controllers and alternative HVDC schemes for offshore wind farms. He is a member of IEEE, IET and has been involved in several CIGRE working groups.
Professor Massimiliano Vasile
Head of the Aerospace Centre of Excellence
Prof Massimiliano Vasile is the Head of the Aerospace Centre of Excellence in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. Prof Vasile is one of the Space Cluster leads at the University of Strathclyde and is championing the area of space safety and sustainability. He is leading a second €4M international research network, called Stardust-Reloaded, supported by the European Commission H2020 framework programme, whose central area of investigation is the current and future management of the space environment to ensure a sustainable use of space.
Since 2013, Prof Vasile has developed research on the management of the space environment and the mitigation of the risk posed by space debris. More recently he has worked on combining life cycle assessment of space systems with space environment management and eco-design, and in-orbit recycling to achieve space sustainability.
Prof Vasile is an internationally recognised expert in astrodynamics. His research sits at the interface between astrodynamics, computational intelligence, optimisation under uncertainty and space systems engineering.
Prof Vasile is one of the members of the Space Energy Initiative to provide green energy from space and sits on the Astrodynamics, and the Space Power Committees of the International Astronautical Federation. He is also on the Environmental Task Force of the Scottish Space Leadership Council.
Bill Leithead, Professor of Systems & Control
Electronic & Electrical Engineering
Prof. Leithead is head of the Wind Energy and Control Centre, which, with more than 70 researchers, is one of the leading and largest wind energy research groups in Europe. He is, also, the Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind and Marine Energy Systems and its successor, the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind and Marine Energy Systems and Structures, which has an annual intake of 14 doctoral research students; and Coordinator of the EU-H2020 project, X-ROTOR: X-shaped radical offshore wind turbine for overall cost of energy reduction.
Prof. Leithead is actively involved with many national and international wind energy research and policy committees including the European Academy of Wind Energy Executive Committee, European Energy Alliance Joint Programme Wind Steering Committee and ORECatapult Research Advisory Group. Prof. Leithead has more than 30 years’ experience in Wind Energy research. His wind energy expertise has particular focus on the conceptual design of wind turbines and wind turbine and farm modelling and control. Prof. Leithead has been the recipient of more than 70 research grants and has a current portfolio in excess of £10M. He has published more than 200 academic papers.
Professor Tim Sharpe, Head Of Department
Architecture
A graduate of Dundee and Strathclyde Universities, Prof. Sharpe has both practice and research expertise in low energy and sustainable architecture, construction, particularly ventilation, health and indoor air quality in housing. He was previously Director of the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit and is now Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Strathclyde. He has been PI and CI on a range of projects investigating low energy and sustainable design with a value of over £6.5m and recent projects include Influence of ventilation design on the prevalence of anti-microbial bacteria in homes, AH/R00207X/1; Breathing City: Future Urban Ventilation Network, NERC NE/V002082/1, Health effects of modern airtight construction, AH/S010467/1. He was a member of the NICE Public Health Advisory Committee on Indoor Air Quality, RCPCH working Group on IAQ and children’s health.
He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Environment and Modelling Group and has extensive experience of monitoring indoor environments. He has led on a several projects for Scottish Government Building Standards Division, including ‘Ability of decentralised mechanical ventilation to act as ‘whole-house’ ventilation systems in new-build dwellings’, ‘To investigate occupier influence on indoor air quality in dwellings’ and ‘A research project to develop guidance for occupiers on how to live in a low carbon home’. He is a CI on the SFC funded Niddrie Rd. Passivhaus Tenement retrofit COP26 demonstration project.
Dr Panagiotis Papadopoulos, UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
Panagiotis Papadopoulos is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering of the University of Strathclyde, working in the area of electric power systems and enabling the integration of new technologies (renewables, electric vehicles, etc.) to achieve decarbonisation targets. In 2019 he has been awarded a prestigious £1.2m UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship on “Addressing the complexity of future power system dynamic behaviour”. This Fellowship is focused on investigating, understanding, defining and representing dynamic phenomena that will be manifest in future power systems due to increasing complexity and uncertainty from the integration of new technologies on the way towards achieving net zero while ensuring stable and secure operation with reduced blackout risk.
His main research area is power system stability and dynamics and he is also interested in data-driven and machine learning power system applications. He is collaborating with industrial partners, including Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) USA, National Grid ESO, SP Energy Networks, SSE, Scottish Power Renewables, GE Grid Solutions and the Alan Turing Institute. He has also chaired the IEEE UK and Ireland, Power and Energy Society, chapter committee (in 2019 and 2020) and is a member of IET Engineering Policy Group Scotland.
Patrick Bayer, Chancellor's Fellow
Patrick Bayer is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations in the School of Government & Public Policy and Chancellor’s Fellow in Strathclyde’s Centre for Energy Policy. His work focuses on international cooperation and the political economy of environmental regulation and energy policy. He is particularly interested in how the domestic political economy and political incentives shape governments’ and firms’ responses to climate change and the global energy transformation.
In currently ongoing work, Bayer studies the politics of carbon markets, firms’ commitments to corporate decarbonisation, and the distributional effects of climate policy. He also leads a recently awarded ESRC project on the role of science on international climate cooperation.
Bayer regularly interacts with policymakers and media on topics around carbon regulation, climate policy, and the politics of the energy transition. He has written for the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage, VoxDev, The Conversation, and the LSE’s EUROPP blog. His work about the socio-economic effects of solar microgrids on poor rural communities in India has been covered by The Economist and was picked up in a World Bank Policy Paper.
Dr Graeme Hawker, Chancellor's Fellow
Electronic & Electrical Engineering
I am a Researcher in Energy Systems, primarily working as part of the UK Energy Research Centre.
My main interest is in multi-vector simulation and optimisation, looking at how the different constraints we have in the future development of electricity, gas, hydrogen and heat networks may affect how we choose to meet our long-term carbon emissions targets.
Dr Sebastian Sprick
Pure & Applied Chemistry
Dr Sprick is a Chancellor’s Fellow in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry mainly working on solar fuels.
Taking inspiration from natural photosynthesis we develop materials that produce clean hydrogen – a chemical fuel - from water and sunlight. For this, my group develops scalable low-cost semiconductors that facilitate this artificial photosynthetic process, also called photocatalytic water splitting. This allows us to store the sun’s energy in chemical bonds, making it storable.
Hydrogen has huge potential for use in transport as refuelling with hydrogen will be faster than charging of batteries, and also allowing to build on existing distribution networks while only producing water when used in a fuel cell.
Dr Xiaolei Zhang, Chemical and Process Engineering
Dr Xiaolei Zhang is a Chancellor's Fellow and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde. She received a Ph.D. degree from Royal Institute of Technology-KTH, Stockholm, Sweden, and worked as a Post-doc Research Fellow in University of Alberta, Canada. From January 2015 to June 2019, she worked at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) as a Lecturer and joined University of Strathclyde in July 2019 under Strathclyde Global Talent Programme.
Her research focus is on waste valorisation into green fuels and sustainable materials towards a circular economy using chemical conversion technologies (pyrolysis, gasification, liquefaction, hydrolysis, solvolysis), and further upgrading. The final products of interest include fossil compatible fuel, fuel additives, gaseous products, bio-chemicals and sustainable advanced materials. The research approaches include Quantum Mechanics modelling based on Density Functional Theory (DFT), Molecular Dynamic modelling, Process Modelling, Thermodynamic and Kinetic experimental investigation and Techno-economic Analysis. She has successfully completed research projects from EPSRC, Leverhulme Trust and industry. She is currently editorial board member for international journals such as Biomass and Bioenergy.
Dr Edward Brightman, Lecturer, Chemical & Process Engineering
Dr Edward Brightman is an electrochemical engineer with a background in diagnostics and characterisation of hydrogen fuel cells, flow batteries and electrolysers. He is currently leading a Faraday Institution project on low-cost graphite-polysulfide flow batteries for emerging economies, as well as ongoing projects on supercapacitors, fuel cell membrane quality control, and biomass-to-hydrogen.
Professor Ashleigh Fletcher, Chemical & Process Engineering
Professor Ashleigh Fletcher has 24 years’ experience of manufacture and characterisation of porous materials for water remediation and process flue stream amelioration, this includes patents for materials development. Her group currently work on valorising waste materials for sorbent development within these areas, working towards a truly circular economy with a focus on greening manufacturing processes; as well as investigating the removal of CO2 from streams with competing gases, including the charging kinetics of the processes – this is essential in more fully understanding real-life systems and how they can be deployed.
Dr David Butler, Reader, Design, Manufacturing & Engineering Management
David Butler leads a team of researchers in sustainable manufacturing and supply chains. His research focuses on both the decommissioning and end-of-life extension of complex equipment including wind turbines, rail rolling stock, and civilian aircraft as well as the development of sustainable supply chains to support this through the adoption of servitisation business models and product reuse, repurposing, and, ultimately, recycling.
Currently David is the Principal Investigator on several EU funded projects in partnership with local councils to build-up localised sustainable operations and supply chains to address the climate emergency. David was previously appointed to the Scottish Government as a National Champion to develop a blueprint for sustainable aircraft decommissioning.
Prior to joining Strathclyde, David spent 18 years in Singapore where he was one of the founders of the Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre – one of the World’s largest industrial translational research centre focusing on the remanufacturing of products and services.
David currently serves as a UK Member of the IEC - TC 88/PT 61400-28-2 standards committee for the Decommissioning and Preparation for Recycling of Wind Turbines.
Dr Stirling Howieson, Department Of Architecture
The current research focus is to commercialise innovative solar concentrating technology designed to alleviate fuel poverty in the global South, via a spin-out company, Sunstore Technologies Ltd (www.sunstoretech.com).
Innovations currently under development are:
- Sunstore PowerPan* - a hybrid thermo-electric and solar/biochar feeding station
- Sunstore Purepull - a combined solar tracking and water purification unit
- Sunstore Coolcan - a solar ground fridge
- Sunstore Saltsink - a solar desalination unit
- Sunstore Chartube - converting agricultural crop waste to clean burn bio-char
- Sunstore Beanbraii - designed to detoxify foodstuffs such a soy beans
*The Sunstore Powerpan won the Grand Prix at the Geneva World Invention Expo 2019 and has been accredited by the Solar Impulse Foundation.
We are actively seeking to establish knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs) with companies who possess the manufacturing and logistical capacity to mass produce, distribute and deploy these solar appliances across Africa and Asia.