I am a Research Fellow in the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester. I am also a visiting researcher at Lancaster University and a member of the Climate Citizens research group. As a Researcher Co-Investigator in the Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC) my work focuses on the governance of energy demand. I am especially interested in the relationship between policy, social change and energy use, including how different groups understand these connections.
I have previously lead research into thermal comfort and how it intersects with increasing energy costs and greater levels of working at home. In this, I am always fascinated by clothing. As an important element of thermal experience, which is in turn important in heating demand in buildings I think the quality of clothing warmth is an over-looked aspect of ‘sustainable fashion’. This work was funded as part of CREDS, the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, which ran from 2018-2023.
From 2019 to 2021, I also worked as a part-time research assistant on the Doctors within Borders project at Lancaster University, a networking project that explored the healthcare experiences of mobile populations, such as refugees and migrants.
From 2014 to 2019, I was a Senior Research Associate in the DEMAND Centre, based within the department of Sociology at Lancaster University. My main project investigated the changing roles of digital devices and services in everyday life and the implications for patterns of energy demand and energy policy. I also helped communicate some of the important insights generated by the Centre, including a series of videos.
Much of my work is interdisciplinary and collaborative. I have experimented with innovative combinations of methods such as integrating fine-grained energy and environmental sensor data alongside interviews and time diaries. My PhD was based in both the School of Computing and Communications and the department of Sociology at Lancaster University. It explored how to make sense of variations in cooking, computing and thermal comfort-related practices and energy use.
I also supervise PhD students, give guest lectures and have taught on a human geography programme and studied environmental philosophy and psychology. Previous to my academic research work, I worked on sustainable development in local government and as a research consultant and project manager at a technology company.
