People
Director
Gary Bending is Professor of Environmental Microbiology in the School of Life Sciences. His research focuses on the impact of a changing climate on the benefits soils provide to society, and how soils can be used to mitigate global warming. This includes processes by which carbon becomes sequestered from the atmosphere into soil, the effects of extreme weather on soil systems, and approaches to harness natural biota to sustain crop productivity. He also studies the environmental fate and persistence of pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides and plastic.
Co-Director
James Covington is a Professor in Electronic Engineering. His research interests are in the development of gas sensors and sensors systems applied to environmental monitoring and biosensing applications.
Co-Director
Jessica Savage is a Senior teaching Fellow in Global Sustainable Development. Her main research interests surround human-ecosystem interactions, marine resources monitoring, impact assessments, environmental management, marine plastics, climate change management, climate change mitigation, tourism, eco-tourism.
Co-Director
Robin Allaby is a Professor of Evolutionary Genetics in the School of Life Sciences specializing in archaeogenomics and palaeometagenomics. He uses evolutionary principles to investigate the evolution of domestication and reconstruction of palaeoenvironments. To do this his group retrieves ancient DNA from archaeological plant samples and sedimentary DNA (sedaDNA), from which ancient genomes are built following evolution directly through time and profiles of the plants and animals that existed thousands of years ago are reconstructed to gain insight into those past environments.
Member
I am an environmental scientist with research and teaching interests in climate change, water treatment technologies, waste management and food safety. Before joining the Global Sustainable Development (GSD) programme in September 2023, I lived and worked in the civil service sector specializing in environmental- and food-related fields, as well as lecturing in a university and a vocational institute, in Hong Kong. I taught a variety of courses for example foundation biology, environmental impacts assessment, food safety and occupational health.
Member
My broad research interests are in addressing how the cryosphere is responding to climate change, thinking about a variety of environmental processes such as volcanic particle deposition on ice, microplastic contamination, meteorite loss, and cryoconite development. Ultimately, my research aims to improve our understanding of anthropogenic and natural pollution in the cryosphere and consider the interdisciplinary scope of these issues.
Member
I am an environmental researcher and field scientist with an interest in multidisciplinary approaches to ecosystem conservation and management. I have expertise in tropical peatland ecology and the role of freshwater ecosystems in the global carbon cycle.
Member
My research focuses on host-microbe interactions and organismal responses to climate change. As a significant aspect of my research aims to address the declines in the world’s coral reefs, I am participating in WECAN as solutions to the coral reef crisis will require interdisciplinary approaches.
Member
My research interests lie in the intersection of water, ecosystem, society, and technologies, focusing on water security, climate resilience, and digital technologies and participatory methods for sustainable development.