Students
Jonathan Growcott
Background: MBiol Biological Sciences
PhD Research: Multimodal monitoring of large African carnivores
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Benno Simmons, Matthew Wijers (External), Johan Wahlstrom and Richard Everson
Jonathan's Profile: Jonathan Growcott
Research Interests:
My interests lie in the utilisation of technolgy for ecological and conservation practices. Previously, I completed my MBiol (Hons) in Biosciences at Durham University where I analysed acoustic data collected from autonomous recording units. For my PhD, I am now combining multiple remote data capture technologies (specifically camera traps and autonomous recording units) to automatically monitor species populations in African savannah ecosystems, with a particular focus on lions. This will involve extensive fieldwork and desk-based computational work to develop AI models.
I am co-supervised by the Widlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at University of Oxford and I am also collaborating with NGO Lion Landscapes, Woburn Safari Park, Longleat Safari Park and researchers at the Royal Veterinary College, London.
You can keep up-to-date with my research here: Twitter
Ashish Sundar
Background: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
PhD Research: Multi-Drone Exploration in 3D Environments
Cohort: 4 (2022)
Supervisors: Chunbo Luo and Ernesto Schwartz-Marin
Ashish's Profile: Ashish Sundar
Current Research
I’m a second year PhD student working within environmental intelligence. I’m trying to get drones to work with each other using reinforcement learning so that they can map a previously unknown environment efficiently and quickly. I hope to use this in the Amazon rainforest to help the locals there begin an ecotourism project.
I am eager to learn more about reinforcement learning by applying it and am curious to see whether multiple agents operating drones operating in a partially observable environment can learn to communicate and cooperate with one another to accomplish given tasks.
I am also curious to see the potential of bleeding edge technology to improve society and provide a platform for those that need it. In this respect, I want this work to benefit communities and people at the lowest level, rather than doing so for large corporations. However, integrating this level of technology into small communities is challenging as it has the potential to disrupt their society, so I am keen to see how technology of this caliber can be integrated well into small communities.
Trish Nowak
Background: BSc Physical Geography; MSc Ocenaography (Physical, Biological and Ecological)
PhD Research: Wandering Dusts: Using mixed AI methods to predict atmospheric dust transport, and disentangle curious reasons for its impact on the environment
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Benno Simmons, Stefan Siegert and Andy Augousti (External)
Trish's Profile: Trish Nowak
My current project focuses on utilising machine learning methods to gain better understanding of environmental processes. This method offers possible clues on causality of processes, rather than just correlation between parameters. In particular my research will focus on a journey of Saharan mineral dust and its further impact on: displacement of West African Monsoon system, biogeochemical cycles and productivity of central Atlantic Ocean, and biogeochemical cycles and the productivity of the Amazon rainforest. For example, the Amazon rainforest's soils are found to be nutrient poor, with no clear sources of essential micro- and macronutrients (phosphorous and iron in particular). Current theory of Saharan mineral dust enriching Amazon rainforest soils is fairly well known. However, annual quantity estimates of transported dust (and thus the nutrients) yield large uncertainties and vary between the studies.
The power of machine learning may provide us with reduced uncertainties, better estimates and perhaps suggest missing links. ML's ability to analyse dozens of parameters over decades of data sets may unveil new or previously overlooked causalities. The possibility of solving a long standing scientific question is what inspires and drives me throughout my research.
Alice Wells
Background: MMath Mathematics
PhD Research: Using effusive and explosive volcanic eruptions as natural analogues for solar radiation management strategies and assessing the public opinion of geoengineering
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Jim Haywood, James Dyke and Daniel Partridge
Alice's Profile: Alice Wells
My research interests include aerosol-radiation interactions, using volcanic eruptions as natural analogues for solar radiation modification (SRM) and comparisons of climate intervention strategies
Publications
Henry, M., Haywood, J., Jones, A., Dalvi, M., Wells, A., Visioni, D., Bednarz, E., MacMartin, D., Lee, W., and Tye, M.: Comparison of UKESM1 and CESM2 Simulations Using the Same Multi-Target Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Strategy, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-980, 2023
Wells, A. F., Jones, A., Osborne, M., Damany-Pearce, L., Partridge, D. G., and Haywood, J. M.: Including ash in UKESM1 model simulations of the Raikoke volcanic eruption reveals improved agreement with observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3985–4007, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3985-2023, 2023
Damany-Pearce, L., Johnson, B., Wells, A. et al. Australian wildfires cause the largest stratospheric warming since Pinatubo and extends the lifetime of the Antarctic ozone hole. Sci Rep 12, 12665 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15794-3
Guy Lomax
Background: BA and MSci Natural Sciences (Geology); MSc Sustianable Energy Futures
PhD Research: Measuring and managing rangeland resilience with remote sensing
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Tom Powell, Tim Lenton, Andrew Cunliffe and Theo Economuo
Guy's Profile: Guy Lomax
My PhD research focuses on using satellite remote sensing data for monitoring of land degradation and resilience in rangeland ecosystems, in collaboration with a community conservation organisation in Northern Kenya.
I began my PhD studies following five years working at The Nature Conservancy on land sector pathways to climate change mitigation (Natural Climate Solutions) including conservation agriculture, agroforestry and sustainable wood products. I am interested in how research can be most effectively used to support environmental policy and practice.
My wider research interests include:
- Remote sensing for real-time monitoring and management of ecosystems
- Nature-based solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation
- The role of carbon dioxide removal in climate change mitigation
- Building sustainable food systems in a world of growing demands for food and energy
Kevin Donkers
Background: MSci Chemical Physics
PhD Research: Can agroforestry be utilised at scale to meet climate adaptation and mitigation needs of UK agriculture?
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Brett Day and Danny Williamson
Kevin's Profile: Kevin Donkers
Kevin is a PhD student at the University of Exeter as part of the UKRI Environmental Intelligence CDT. His research focusses on modelling agroforestry at scale to understand the trade-offs between terrestrial carbon sequestration and food security.
Keywords: biophysical modelling, land-use modelling, carbon sequestration, climate change mitigation, Bayesian model calibration.
Owain Harris
Background: MPhys Physics
PhD Research: High impact weather in the mid-latitudes: Identifying and predicting dry intrusion outflows using statistical and machine learning methods
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Jennifer Catto, Stefan Siegert, and Eleanor Hadley Kershaw
Owain's Profile: Owain Harris
I am researching high impact weather in the mid-latitude regions. Specifically, I am developing multiple logistic regression and convolutional neural network models to identify and predict dry intrusions that are linked to extratropical cyclones and associated with extreme surface weather. The project aim is to further our understanding of how these descending airstreams and their impacts are likely to change in the future by studying their representation in climate projection models. Contextually underpinning this work, I will be considering the larger role of emerging machine learning technologies in weather and climate science, and how these new forms of knowledge production will interact with existing mechanisms of decision-making related to climate change.
Ellie Fox
Background: BA Geography
PhD Research: Impacts of glacier melt on water availability and quality for downstream communities in the Andes: A socio-cryspheric systems approach
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Steven Palmer, Ernesto Schwartz-Marin and Sally Rangecroft
Ellie's Profile: Ellie Fox
In 2022, I started my PhD at the University of Exeter. My research is titled ‘Investigating the relationships between mountain cryosphere change and water availability, access and use for communities in the Semi-Arid Chilean Andes’. This project is funded by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence. The research sits at the intersection of glaciology, political ecology, and critical physical geography.
Broadly speaking, I am interested in the changing interrelationships between mountain glaciers and society, and the application of interdisciplinary methodologies to study and address changes in these areas. Specifically, my research examines these complex interrelationships in the context of the changes to water availability, access and use in glacier- and rock glacier-fed catchments in the Semi-Arid Chilean Andes.
Prior to beginning my research, I completed a training year as part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence at the University of Exeter, where I trained in machine learning for earth observation, and studied critical perspectives on the use of big data and machine learning for addressing environmental challenges.
Liam Berrisford
Background: BSc Computer Science. Professional experience as a Software Engineer in Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Counter Terrorism and Security Division)
PhD Research: The structure and dynamics of future transport infrastructure
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Ronaldo Menezes, Hugo Barbosa and Ricardo Safra de Campos
Liam's Profile: Liam Berrisford
2019 - Present Postgraduate Researcher within the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Enviromental Intelligence
2018-2019 Software Engineer
2015-2018 BSc Computer Science
Research Interests: Sustainable and Resilient Smart Cities, Citizen Science and Human-Computer Interaction
Personal Website for more information: Liam Berrisford
Ellie Duncan
Background: BSc Mathematics; MSc Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate
PhD Research: Untangling natural aerosol processes in Polar Regions by implementing novel machine learning techniques
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Daniel Partridge, Jonathan Fieldsend, Jim Haywood and Alistair Sellar (External)
Ellie's Profile: Ellie Duncan
My research focuses on untangling natural aerosol processes in Polar Regions, using machine learning techniques and evaluation of climate models in a Lagrangian framework.
I previously completed a BSc in Mathematics at the University of Exeter and a MSc in Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate at the University of Reading, with a dissertation titled 'Quantifying Aerosol-driven Changes in Cloud Properties in Pollution Tracks'.
Abhi Navaneethanathan
Background: MSci Physics with Theoretical Physics
PhD Research: Developing ML and statistical models to study global particulate organic carbon fluxes through the data fusion of sparse, heterogeneous and in-situ oceanographic observations
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Chunbo Luo, Peter Challenor and Sabina Leonelli
Abhi's Profile: Abhi Navaneethanathan
My PhD research focuses on better understanding the processes that influence the ocean biological carbon pump using in situ particulate organic carbon (POC) flux observations from a variety of instruments. I am interested in how data fusion methods can be used to combine these heterogeneous data sources in order to address their sparsity and biases, and to make more accurate global POC flux estimates than what can be obtained from individual sources. This project is in collaboration with the National Oceanography Centre.
I previously completed an MSci in Physics with Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London, with a dissertation titled ‘Modelling diagnostics for Inertial Confinement Fusion‘ with the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies, followed by working for a year as an AI Researcher on NLP applications.
Research Interests
- Data fusion
- Data biases in machine learning (ML)
- ML and statistical hybrid models
- In situ observations and remote sensing
- Modelling ocean particulate organic carbon fluxes
- Explainable AI
Ben Fitkov-Norris
Background: BA Biological Sciences
PhD Research: Alternative routes to marine conservation: beyond the protected area paradigm
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Benno Simmons, Jacqueline Christmas, Kristian Metcalfe and Barend van Maanen
Ben's Profile: Ben Fitkov-Norris
I am in my third year on the Environmental Intelligence CDT based at the University of Exeter, following a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford. Having worked on coral reef ecology, I am keen to explore the use of large-scale planetary data in my research.
My current research interests include marine ecology, marine protected area design and marine resource management and I will be working on the application of big data approaches and novel AI solutions to help tackle the environmental challenges surrounding these interests.
Manju Bura
Background: BSc Biomedical Sciences; MSc Climate Change Science and Policy
PhD Research: The social life of heatwaves: A multimodal study of framing of heatwaves
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Chico Camargo and Clare Saunders.
Manju's Profile: Manju Bura
I have a background in climate change science and a critical understanding of the context for action on climate change, having completed a Masters degree in Climate Change Science and Policy at the University of Bristol. My research interests are broad, encompassing the social and epistemic understandings of climate and the environment within various cosmologies.
My PhD research titled 'Social life of heatwaves' focuses on the critical analysis of how extreme weather events, particularly heatwaves are discursively constructed across modern and non-modern ontologies through mass media and lived experiences. To achieve this, I employ interdisciplinary methodologies including machine learning techniques and ethnographic approaches to study the ways in which contemporary meanings of heatwaves are constructed in public discourse. My research draws inspiration from various fields including science and technology studies, political ecology, and computational social sciences.
Zihao Chen
Background: MSc Urban Informatics, BSc Computer Science
PhD Research: TBC
Cohort: 4 (2022)
Supervisors: TBC
I am a PhD student at the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence. My research involves using a comprehensive national level (England) bus timetable and real time location data to analyse bus travel time variability to uncover socio-spatial inequalities in accessibility. I am supervised by Dr Federico Botta at Computer Science and Prof Stewart Barr at Geography.
Prior to joining Exeter, I completed a Bachelor of Sciecne (Hons) degree in Computer Science at the University of Liverpool and a Master of Science degree in Urban Informatics at the Centre for Urban Science and Progress London (CUSP London), King's College London. I also worked as a Technical Instructor for 2.5 years at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (University of Liverpool in China) before starting my PhD, where I actively engaged in research and lab demonstration work.
I have a broad interest in using data science to solve urban issues, with a particular interest in public transport especially rail. I am a rail enthusiast - not a train spotter, perhaps a train spotter spotter ;).
Follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @zihao_chen_.
Timothy Lam
Background: BSc Earth Sciences; MSc Climate Change and Sustainable Development
PhD Research: Quantifying teleconnection pathways leading to Droughts and Wildfires in Indonesian Borneo
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Jennifer Catto, Anna Harper and Rosa Barciela (External)
Timothy's Profile: Timothy Lam
My PhD research seeks to quantify the teleconnections to droughts and fire risks during the dry season in the Borneo region using a causal framework and analysis-ready data from the observations and climate models. It contributes to a GCRF-funded project which investigates the broader causes, impacts and mitigation actions of peat fires in Indonesian Borneo, in collaboration with researchers from Indonesia and across the UK.
My areas of interest are as follows:
- Predictions and projections of weather and climate hazards in the Asia-Pacific region on subseasonal to interdecadal timescales
- Open-source software tools for climate research, as a contributor of The Environmental Data Science Book and the Pangeo project, in collaboration with The Alan Turing Institute and Met Office
- Capacity building on climate change adaptation
Nicola Wilson
Background: BSc Geography with Oceanography; MSc Water and Coastal Management
PhD Research: How can digital technologies help upscale and finance blue carbon?
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Chris Laing, Bob Brewin, Rudy Arthur and Sarah Hartley
Nicola's Profile: Nicola Wilson
I am an interdisciplinary scientist interested in the use of novel technologies and data science to drive system change, improve decision making and inform policy. I particularly enjoy working at the interface of research with policy and business applications.
My research area is focusing on how novel digital technologies can help upscale and finance blue carbon, with a focus on seagrass.
Before joining the CDT, I worked for many years in flood and coastal risk management in both public and private sectors, later specialising in coastal adaptation strategies and policy research.
Research interests
- Financing blue carbon
- Satellite applications
- Nature-based solutions
- Digital technologies and innovation
- Socio-ecological interactions
- Systems thinking
Cesar Arturo Angeles Ruiz
Background: BSc Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering; MSc Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology
PhD Research: Incorporating renewable energy in electricity grids
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: James Dyke, James Salter and Sarah Hartley
Cesar's Profile: Cesar Arturo Angeles Ruiz
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Tom Hogger Gadsby
Background: BA Philosophy; MA Philosophy
PhD Research: Modelling past, present and potential futures of mobility in Mexico City
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Federico Botta and Patricia Murrieta-Flores (External)
Tom's Profile: Tom Hogger Gadsby
Research interests
I am interested in the development of environmentally sustainable transportation networks and practices, particularly in ways that are sensitive to social and cultural conditions and that do not merely perpetuate existing social divides.
My research is focused on urban mobility and transport in Mexico City. This work includes looking into the development of city infrastructure over time by applying Natural Language Processing techniques to historical texts, as well as conducting interviews with stakeholders to draw out underlying sociocultural themes, with a view to modelling outcomes that are both sustainable and equitable.
Jake Curry
Background: BSc Zoology; MRes Computational Methods in Ecology and Evolution
PhD Research: Bringing ‘Big Data’ to conservation: applying computer vision techniques to automate detection and classification in camera trap image data
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Benno Simmons, Sareh Rowlands and Jacqueline Christmas
Jake's Profile: Jake Curry
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Frederica Poznansky
Background: BSc Environmental Sciences; MRes Tropical Forest Ecology
PhD Research: Soundscapes in Tropical Landscapes
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Frank van Veen and Saptarshi Das
Frederica's Profile: Frederica Poznansky
Arthur Vandervoort
Background: BA International Relations
PhD Research: In the wake of disaster: analysing gendered mobility patterns by leveraging mobile phone data, data feminism, and justice
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Sabina Leonelli, Karyn Morrissey and Riccardo di Clemente
Arthur's Profile: Arthur Vandervoort
Rhiannon Grant
Background: BSc Geography; MSc Geography
PhD Research: The Turbidity of European Shelf Seas
Cohort: 4 (2022)
Supervisors: Ute Schuster, Jerry Blackwood (External), Rudy Arthur and Shaun Rigby (External)
Monty Sant
Background: MChem Chemistry
PhD Research: Ocean abosorption and storage of anthropogenic carbon
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Andrew Watson and Peter Challenor
Monty's Profile: Monty Sant
Elizabeth Galloway
Background: MSci Natural Sciences
PhD Research: Modelling the impacts of tropical storms in the Philippines using statistical and machine learning approaches
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Jennifer Catto and Chunbo Luo
Elizabeth's Profile: Elizabeth Galloway
Emma Bailey
Background: MMath in Mathematics
PhD Research: Tipping Sustainable Change: Social Dynamics and Contagion
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Tim Lenton, Hywel Williams and Catherine Butler
Emma's Profile: Emma Bailey
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Ned Westwood
Background: BA International Relations and Politics; MRes Politics
PhD Research: Computer assisted classification of political narratives that impede and promote action on climate change
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Travis Coan, Hywel Williams and Saffron O'Neill
Ned's Profile: Ned Westwood
Emily Robinson
Background: BSc Marine Environmental Science; MRes Geochemistry
PhD Research: Tracking the discourse of transboundary injustices of Net Zero decarbonization strategies
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Sarah Hartley and Chico Camargo
Emily's Profile: Emily Robinson
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Ian Burton
Background: LLB Law and Criminology; MA Politics and Contemporary History
PhD Research: The impact of innovation and technology diffusion decarbonisation policy packages on the global economy-energy-environment system
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Jean-Francois Mercure, Femke Nijsse and Sarah Hartley
Ian's Profile: Ian Burton
Joshua Redmond
Background: BSc Politics
PhD Research: Participatory Design for Human Rights Monitoring using Earth Observation Data
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Hugo Barbosa and Ana Beduschi
Joshua's Profile: Joshua Redmond
Daneen Cowling
Background: BSc Geography; MSc by Research Geography
PhD Research: Enhanced erosion and the land-ocean continuum: Assessing the biogeochemical responses to vulnerable landscapes
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Tim Lenton, Ute Schuster and Jacqueline Christmas
Daneen's Profile: Daneen Cowling
My research interests include Earth System Resilience, Ecosystem Resilience and the Carbonate-Silicate Geochemical Cycle. I work closely with UK government agencies and environmental organisations to create research outputs that can support policy and on-the-ground action.
I also have interests in Science Communication and Education. I have co-created and co-faciliated on several of the University of Exeter Climate Change online courses, led Climate Change engagement events and, written and delivered Climate Change courses for KS3-KS4.
Alongisde my reserach I am a freelance GIS and Data analyst: https://www.naturedatasolutions.com/
Margaret Bolton
Background: BSc Ecology; MSc Applied Ecology
PhD Research: Inter-comparability and consistency of ecological fitness proxies across populations
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Regan Early, Sabina Leonelli and Bram Kuijper
Chris Kerry
Background: BSc Physical Geography, MSc Biodiversity and Conservation
PhD Research: Enforcement, Remote Sensing, and Data Science for Effective Illegal Fishing Deterrence
Cohort: 1 (2019)
Supervisors: Kristian Metcalfe, Saptarshi Das, Karyn Morrissey, Sam Weber and Tom Letessier (External)
Chris's Profile: Chris Kerry
Chris's Publications: Chris Kerry Publications
Research Interests
I am a marine conservation scientist with my research mainly focussed on investigating methods of tracking global fishing activity to monitor ecological impacts. I am interested in how remote sensing and data science can be used to inform ocean management and have also been involved in the satellite tracking of basking sharks and tuna in UK waters and creating quantitative assessments of ocean health.
Sara Sjosten
Background: BA Natural Sciences; MSc Geological Sciences
PhD Research: How can drastic changes in the Earth system in deep time help us understand how current ecosystems may respond to further human perturbation? How much more human disturbance can ecosystems tolerate before they collapse?
Cohort: 2 (2020)
Supervisors: Tim Lenton and Peter Roopnarine (External)
Sara's Profile: Sara Sjosten
Current Research
My PhD research concerns ancient ecosystems and the feedbacks between their biotic and abiotic components which have driven the long-term evolution of the Earth system. I use biogeochemical models of the ocean and atmosphere in combination with ecophysiological modeling of past organisms and ecological community dynamics to consider how life has shaped the Earth system and how that holistic system can be stabilized or destabilized.
Past Research
MSci Geological Sciences, University of Cambridge. Thesis: Trilobite Diversity and Disparity through the Phanerozoic.
Alina McGregor
Background: BA Sociology and Anthropolgy; MSc Global Sustainable Solutions
Cohort: 5 (2023)
Alina's Profile: Alina McGregor
Francisco Gonzalez
Background: MSc Applied GIS and Remote Sensing; MPhil Mathematics
Victoria Morton-Thurtle
Background: MPhys Theoretical Physics
Ross Gardiner
Nathanael Sheehan
Background: BSc Computer Science and Mandarin; MSc Smart Cities and Urban Analytics
PhD Research: The Epistemic Consequences of Open Data and Software: A practice based study
Cohort: 3 (2021)
Supervisors: Sabina Leonelli and Federico Botta
Nathanael's Profile: Nathanael Sheehan
I am Nathanael Sheehan (he/him) a second year doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter, where my research focuses on the "Diversity and Injustice of Open Research Environments". This research is generously funded by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence and is a component of the project "Philosophy of Open Science for Diverse Research Environments" run by Professor Sabina Leoneli.
Papers:
- Talbot, J., Lucas-Smith, M., Speakman, A., Streb, M., Nuttall, S., Carlino, D., Johansson, P., Sheehan, N., Groot, N., & Lovelace, R. (2022). Active Travel Oriented Development: Assessing the suitability of sites for new homes. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 22(4), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.18757/ejtir.2022.22.4.6015
- Unrestricted versus Regulated Open Data Governance: A Bibliometric Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleotide Sequence Databases. Nathanael Peter Sheehan, Sabina Leonelli, Federico Botta. bioRxiv 2023.05.13.540634; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.13.540634
- Reconciling Data Actionability and Accountability in Global Health Research. Nathanael Peter Sheehan and Sabina Leonelli. Global Health (forthcoming)
Brianna Pickstone
Background: BSc Marine Biology and Ecology
Overview
Bri is a PhD student as part of the Environmental Intelligence CDT and RSK Biocensus.
PhD: Addressing Ecosystem Mapping Challenges using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning
Supervisors: Karen Anderson (UoE), Sareh Rowlands (UoE), Richard Delahay (RSK Biocensus)
Qualifications2023 MSc. Applied Data Science in Environment and Sustainability – University of Exeter
2014 GDip. Secondary Education – University of Queensland, Australia
2013 BSc. Marine Biology and Ecology - University of Queensland, Australia
Tatiana Cantillo
Background: Bachelor in Electrical Engineering; Bachelor in Economics; MSc Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment
Alex Edwards
Background: MSc Climate Change and Environmental Policy, BSc Conservation Biology
PhD Research: Demand for Climate Justice
Cohort: 4 (2022)
Supervisors: Femke Nijsse, Karen Bickerstaff and Paul Brockway (External)
Catie Johnson
Background: MA Philosophy; MSc Psychological Research Methods (Evolutionary Psychology)
Joshua Dare-Cullen
Background: BSc Computer Science; MSc Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Systems
Andrew Houldcroft
Background: BSc Biology; MSc Conservation and Biodiversity
Arjun Biswas
Background: MSc Advanced Computer Science; Bachelor of Technology, Electronics and Computer Science
Ceren Barlas
Background: MSc in Environmental Health, BSc in Biology & Computer Science
PhD Research: An Index for Climate Change Adaptation in the UK
Cohort: 4 (2022)
Supervisors: Mark Kelson, James Salter and Gavin Shaddick (External)
Ceren's Profile: Ceren Barlas
Paul Bell
Background: MSci Physics
PhD Research: Bayesian Methods For Climate Impact Uncertainty Quantification
Cohort: 4 (2022)
Supervisors: TBC
Paul's Profile: Paul Bell
I'm Paul, though I often go by Pasha. I'm in my second year of my PhD in Mathematics. I'm aligned with the Environmental Integelligence CDT and iCASE funded by IBM Research.
My pronouns are they/them and I identify as a subjective Bayesian statistician. I'm also non-binary.
My research interests are:
- Bayesian statistics.
- Uncertainty quantification for linked models.
- Downscaling of climate models.
- Impact modelling.
If you're also interested in any of the above, please drop me an email! I'm still finding my feet so I'm not a wealth of knowledge, but I really enjoy chatting to folk about research.
Morgan Sparey
Background: Natural Sciences integrated MSc
PhD Research: Modelling Clouds with ML: Open-Source Modelling for Accurate Climate Prediction
Cohort: 4 (2022)
Supervisors: Mark Williamson, Cyril Morcrette, Stefan Siegert and Peter Cox
Morgan's Profile: Morgan Sparey
Our students are recruited to the CDT from a range of academic and professional backgrounds. Scroll through their profiles to find out about them and their Environmental Intelligence research.
Cohort 1 (2019)
| Student | PhD Research | Supervisors |
| Liam Berrisford | 'The structure and dynamics of future transport infrastructure.' | Ronaldo Menezes, Hugo Barbosa and Ricardo Safra de Campos |
| Margaret Bolton | 'Inter-comparability and consistency of ecological fitness proxies across populations.' | Regan Early, Sabina Leonelli and Bram Kuijper |
| Ellie Duncan | 'Untangling natural aerosol processes in Polar Regions by implementing novel machine learning techniques.' | Daniel Partridge, Jonathan Fieldsend, Jim Haywood and Alistair Sellar (External) |
| Chris Kerry | 'Enforcement, remote sensing, and data science for effective illegal fishing deterrence.' | Kristian Metcalfe, Saptarshi Das, Karyn Morrissey, Sam Weber and Tom Letessier (External) |
| Timothy Lam | 'Quantifying teleconnection pathways leading to Droughts and Wildfires in Indonesian Borneo.' | Jennifer Catto, Anna Harper and Rosa Barciela (External) |
| Guy Lomax | 'Measuring and managing rangeland resilience with remote sensing.' | Tom Powell, Tim Lenton, Andrew Cunliffe and Theo Economou |
| Joshua Redmond | 'Participatory Design for Human Rights Monitoring using Earth Observation Data.' | Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Hugo Barbosa and Ana Beduschi |
| Arthur Vandervoort | 'In the wake of disaster: analysing gendered mobility patterns by leveraging mobile phone data, data feminism, and justice.' | Sabina Leonelli, Karyn Morrissey and Riccardo di Clemente |
| Alice Wells | 'Using effusive and explosive volcanic eruptions as natural analogues for solar radiation management strategies and assessing the public opinion of geoengineering.' | Jim Haywood, James Dyke and Daniel Partridge |
| Ned Westwood | 'Computer assisted classification of political narratives that impede and promote action on climate change.' | Travis Coan, Hywel Williams and Saffron O'Neill |
Cohort 2 (2020)
| Student | PhD Research | Supervisors |
| 'Tipping Sustainable Change: Social Dynamics and Contagion.' | Tim Lenton, Hywel Williams and Catherine Butler | |
| Ian Burton | 'The impact of innovation and technology diffusion decarbonisation policy packages on the global economy-energy-environment system.' | Jean-Francois Mercure, Femke Nijsse and Sarah Hartley |
| Daneen Cowling | 'Enhanced erosion and the land-ocean continuum: Assessing the biogeochemical responses to vulnerable landscapes.' | Tim Lenton, Ute Schuster and Jacqueline Christmas |
| Kevin Donkers | 'Can agroforestry be utilised at scale to meet climate adaptation and mitigation needs of UK agriculture?' | Brett Day and Danny Williamson |
| Elizabeth Galloway | 'Modelling the impacts of tropical storms in the Philippines using statistical and machine learning approaches.' | Jennifer Catto and Chunbo Luo |
| Abhi Navaneethanathan | 'Developing ML and statistical models to study global particulate organic carbon fluxes through the data fusion of sparse, heterogeneous and in-situ oceanographic observations.' | Chunbo Luo, Peter Challenor and Sabina Leonelli |
| Trish Nowak | 'Wandering Dusts. Using mixed AI methods to predict atmospheric dust transport, and disentangle curious reasons for its impact on the environment.' | Benno Simmons, Stefan Siegert and Andy Augousti (External) |
| Frederica Poznansky | 'Soundscapes in Tropical Landscapes.' | Frank van Veen and Saptarshi Das |
| Monty Sant | 'Ocean abosorption and storage of anthropogenic carbon.' | Andrew Watson and Peter Challenor |
| Sara Sjosten | 'How can drastic changes in the Earth system in deep time help us understand how current ecosystems may respond to further human perturbation? How much more human disturbance can ecosystems tolerate before they collapse?' |
Tim Lenton and Peter Roopnarine (External) |
| Nicola Wilson | 'How can digital technologies help upscale and finance blue carbon?' | Chris Laing, Bob Brewin, Rudy Arthur and Sarah Hartley |
Cohort 3 (2021)
| Student | PhD Research | Supervisors |
| Cesar Arturo Angeles Ruiz | 'Incorporating renewable energy in electricity grids.' | James Dyke, James Salter and Harshil Sumaria (External) |
| Manju Bura | 'The social life of heatwaves: A multimodal study of framing of heatwaves.' | Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Chico Camargo and Clare Saunders |
| Jake Curry | 'Application of Computer Vision Methods to Camera Trapping for Ecology and Conservation.' | Benno Simmons, Sareh Rowlands and Jacqueline Christmas |
| Ben Fitkov-Norris | 'Alternative routes to marine conservation - beyond the protected area paradigm.' | Benno Simmons, Jacqueline Christmas, Kristian Metcalfe or Barend van Maanen |
| Ellie Fox | 'Impacts of glacier melt on water availability and quality for downstream communities in the Andes: A socio-cryspheric systems approach.' | Steven Palmer, Ernesto Schwartz-Marin and Sally Rangecroft |
| Jonathan Growcott | 'Multimodal monitoring of large African carnivores.' | Benno Simmons, Matthew Wijers (External), Johan Wahlstrom and Richard Everson |
| Owain Harris | 'High impact weather in the mid-latitudes: Identifying and predicting dry intrusion outflows using statistical and machine learning methods' | Jennifer Catto, Stefan Siegert, and Eleanor Hadley Kershaw |
| Tom Hogger Gadsby | 'Modelling past, present and potential futures of mobility in Mexico City.' | Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Federico Botta and Patricia Murrieta-Flores (External) |
| Emily Robinson | 'Tracking the discourse of transboundary injustices of Net Zero decarbonization strategies.' | Sarah Hartley and Chico Camargo |
| Nathanael Sheehan | 'The Epistemic Consequences of Open Data and Software: A practice based study' | Sabina Leonelli and Federico Botta |
Cohort 4 (2022)
| Student | PhD Research | Supervisors |
| Ceren Barlas | 'An Index for Climate Change Adaptation in the UK' | Mark Kelson, James Salter and Gavin Shaddick (External) |
| Paul Bell | TBC | TBC |
| Zihao Chen | TBC | TBC |
| Alex Edwards | 'Demand for Climate Justice' | Femke Nijsse, Karen Bickerstaff and Paul Brockway (External) |
| Rhiannon Grant | 'The Turbidity of European Shelf Seas' | Ute Schuster, Jerry Blackwood (External), Rudy Arthur and Shaun Rigby (External) |
| Morgan Sparey | 'Modelling Clouds with ML: Open-Source Modelling for Accurate Climate Prediction' | Mark Williamson, Cyril Morcrette, Stefan Siegert and Peter Cox |
| Ashish Sundar | 'Multi-Drone Exploration in 3D Environments' | Chunbo Luo and Ernesto Schwartz-Marin |
Cohort 5 (2023)
| Student | PhD Research | Supervisors |
| Arjun Biswas | TBC | |
| Tatiana Cantilo | TBC | |
| Joshua Dare-Cullen | TBC | |
| Ross Gardiner | TBC | |
| Francisco Ganzalez | TBC | |
| Andrew Houldcroft | TBC | |
| Catie Johnstone | TBC | |
| Alina McGregor | TBC | |
| Victoria Morton-Thurtle |
TBC | |
| Chanon Olley | TBC | |
| Bri Pickstone | TBC | |
| Simon Puttock | TBC | |
| Will Rees | TBC | |
| Will Ward | TBC |