Dr Feng Mao
Associate Professor of Global Sustainable Development
Director of Research, School for Cross-faculty Studies
R2.14, Ramphal Building, School for Cross-Faculty Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL
Overview
Dr Feng Mao is Associate Professor of Global Sustainable Development and Director of Research at the School for Cross-Faculty Studies, University of Warwick, and a member of the University Senate. He is an interdisciplinary sustainability scientist whose research examines how environmental change, data and technology, and human decision-making interact to shape sustainable and resilient futures. His work spans the natural and social sciences, combining environmental modelling and data science with participatory, behavioural, and creative approaches.
His research is organised around three interconnected themes:
- Water security, climate resilience and socio-environmental systems, including human-water interactions, urban resilience, climate adaptation, ecosystem change and the relationships between environmental processes and society across scales.
- Environmental data, AI and digital technologies, including GeoAI, environmental modelling, data visualisation, digital twins and environmental informatics, with particular interest in how data and models are interpreted and used in real-world decision-making.
- Participation, decision-making and sustainable futures, including serious games, knowledge co-creation, citizen science, and art-science collaboration for exploring alternatives and supporting collective action under uncertainty.
A central theme across his research is how different forms of knowledge, evidence and experience can be brought together to understand complex sustainability challenges and inform action. His work is international and collaborative, involving researchers, communities, policymakers and other partners across Africa, Asia and Europe.
Dr Mao holds leadership roles in major interdisciplinary initiatives spanning environmental research, sustainability and the creative industries, including as Sustainability Lead for the AHRC-funded CreaTech Frontiers programme and co-lead of the "Global Governance by Goal Setting" Working Group within the Earth System Governance Project. He previously served on the NERC Future Leaders Council, the UKRI-NERC Aviation Assurance Panel, and the NERC Environmental Data Research UK Board. His previous roles also include Theme Lead for the Association of Commonwealth Universities' Commonwealth Futures Climate Research programme and Academic Lead for the Research England-funded Games and Innovation Nexus project.
Education
- PhD in Geography, University of Cambridge
- MPhil in Politics, University of Cambridge
- MRes in Biodiversity and Conservation, University of Leeds
- BSc in Biological Sciences, Zhejiang University
Previous Academic Appointments
- Lecturer in Physical Geography and Environmental Sustainability, Cardiff University
- Research Fellow and Project Manager, University of Birmingham
Visiting Positions
- Visiting Scholar, Stanford University
- Visiting Scholar, Northwestern University