Sustainable Futures Alumni

Jonathan Flower

PhD Researcher in Sustainable Futures
UWE Bristol, Geography and Environmental Management (ESRC 1+3)

Start date: September 2017

Research topic: Contested Urban Street Space – Exploring the relationships between road user behaviour, walking and cycling infrastructure, and highway regulations.

The future of sustainable transport relies on an understanding of behaviour in relation to interactions within the transport environment and mode choice. I will explore road user behaviour in situations where increased highway space is allocated to active mobility, or its relative priority elevated. Social behaviours within the public realm are influenced by the law and regulation, and by the design of the environment, yet regulation is influenced by behaviour and the environment, and the environment is influenced by behaviour and regulation. These inter-relations are an under-researched area that I wish to investigate further.

Research supervisors: Professor John Parkin, Dr Ian Walker

Email: jonathan.flower@uwe.ac.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-flower-62634091/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JontyFlower

Website/Blog: https://contestedstreetspace.wordpress.com/

Niall McLoughlin

PhD Researcher in Environment, Energy and Resilience (ESRC +3)
University of Bath, Department of Psychology

Start date: September 2015

Research topic: Encouraging pro-environmental and adaptive behaviour change through tailored framing appeals in contrasting cultural contexts

Research supervisors: Dr Ian Walker (Bath), Dr Saffron O'Neill (Exeter)

Email: ncm27@bath.ac.uk

Dr Lucy Faulkner

PhD Researcher in Environment, Energy and Resilience (ESRC 1+3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental Sciences

Start date: September 2013

Research topic: The role of sustainable collective action in shaping community resilience

Research supervisors: Professor Neil Adger (Exeter), Professor Katrina Brown (Exeter)

Email: lcf203@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Jessica Britton

PhD Researcher in Environment, Energy and Resilience (ESRC 1+3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental Sciences

Start date: September 2012

Research topic: The role of city-scale in energy transitions: heat networks in the UK and Germany

My research examines the development of heat networks in the UK and Germany with particular focus on the role of municipal utilities.  The research will explore the integration of heat networks into the energy system and models of city scale energy provision and ownership.  More broadly, the project aims to explore the interaction of different actors, institutions and governance in urban energy infrastructure in order to better understand scales in socio-technical transitions.  My broader research interests focus on low carbon innovation at a local level, particularly exploring the role of local authorities in energy governance, policy development and implementation.

Research supervisors: Dr Bridget Woodman (Exeter), Dr David Sweeting (Bristol)

Professional memberships/Positions held:

British Institute of Energy Economics – Member

Regional Studies Association – Member

Email: j.britton@exeter.ac.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jesswhiting

Website/Blog: http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Jessica_Britton

Chris Bryant

PhD Researcher in Environment, Energy and Resilience (ESRC 1+3)
University of Bath, Department of Psychology

Start date: September 2016

Research topic: Public acceptability of cultured meat

Cultured meat is meat grown from animal cells without the need to slaughter animals. My research is in individual attitudes towards cultured meat products, especially the cognitive and affective mechanisms shaping behaviour towards cultured meat. I am exploring how perceptions change over time, the mechanisms underpinning this change, and the role of emotions in forming perceptions of unfamiliar objects.

Research supervisors: Dr Julie Barnett (Bath), Dr Eldin Fahmy (Bristol)

Email: C.J.Bryant@bath.ac.uk

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/chris-bryant-75b6546b

Pamela Buchan

PhD Researcher in Environment, Energy and Resilience (ESRC 1+3)
University of Exeter, College of Life and Environmental Sciences

Start date: September 2015

Research topic: Investigating marine citizenship and its role in creating good marine environmental health

This research will critically analyse the spectrum of stakeholder engagement and participatory approaches employed within the marine environmental sector in the UK. In collaboration with case-study partners it will empirically examine examples of applied citizen science and engagement in marine policy and planning, to illuminate successful methods that can be applied to environmental policy more broadly. This interdisciplinary research will bridge the interface between marine science, governance and policy, and behavioural and educational theories. The application of the findings will support marine and coastal environmental management through a greater understanding of how policy and management intersect with the public.

Research supervisors: Dr Louisa Evans (Exeter), Dr Margherita Pieraccini (Bristol), Professor Stuart Barr (Exeter)

Professional memberships/Positions held:

Postgraduate Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society

Postgraduate Representative, Coastal and Marine Research Group, RGS

Email: pb381@exeter.ac.uk

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/PamelaBuchan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Asterinidae

Dr Jack Nicholls

PhD Researcher in Energy, Environment and Resilience (ESRC 1+3)
University of Bristol, Law School / SPAIS

Start date: September 2014

Research topic: Public engagement in energy infrastructure development

My research is focused on different forms of public engagement and public participation employed in the decision-making, planning and operation of energy projects. Different ownership models including, commercial, cooperative and community benefit societies are considered and localised impacts examined.

Research supervisors: Professor Patrick Devine-Wright (Exeter), Dr Therese O’Toole (Bristol), Dr Margherita Pieraccini (Bristol)

Professional memberships/Positions held:

Council member of South West Research Cooperative

Email: jack.nicholls@bristol.ac.uk

Dr Ed Atkins

PhD Researcher in Environment, Energy and Resilience (ESRC 1+3)
University of Bristol, Law School / SPAIS

Start date: September 2014

Research topic: The role of discourse in the management of water

My work has found itself focusing on the competing perceptions of the environment and, in particular, water and how such understandings interact and compete within discourse. Utilising the case study of dam construction in contemporary Brazil, this is with a particular focus on the discourses used to deflect opposition to important schemes of reform and infrastructure construction. My wider research interests include the narratives of climate change, environmental conflict and the Anthropocene.

Research supervisors: Dr Adrian Flint (Bristol), Dr Roy Maconachie (Bath)

Professional memberships/Positions held:

Member, International Water Resources Association
Member, South West Research Cooperative

Email: ed.atkins@bristol.ac.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/edatkins_

Dr Alice Venn

PhD Researcher in Environment, Energy and Resilience (ESRC 1+3)
University of Bristol, Law School

Start date: September 2014

Research topic: International law and climate change

My research focuses on the protection of climate vulnerable states and communities under international law. It analyses key avenues within international environmental law, state responsibility and human rights law, capable of providing these states and communities with an effective remedy for losses incurred as a result of adverse climate change impacts. It is driven by a desire to contribute to the growing climate justice literature from an international legal perspective, taking into account the access to justice challenges which exist in practice. It includes a regional case study of the South Pacific, examining climate justice and the enforceability of international mechanisms at a more grassroots level.

Research supervisors: Dr Margherita Pieraccini (Bristol), Professor Katrina Brown (Exeter)

Email: alice.venn@bristol.ac.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alice_venn