People

Browse the academic profiles of our Geography staff.

Academic staff


Dr Amy Barron
Lecturer in Socio-Cultural Geography

Research specialisms: More-than-representational-theories; Affect and emotion; Place and identity; Geographies of ageing and the life-course; Creative and participatory methodologies


Dr Rob Bellamy
Senior Lecturer in Climate and Society

Research specialisms: Climate change; Climate technologies; Public perception; Technology assessment; Governance


Dr Joe Blakey
Lecturer in Human Geography

Research specialisms: The political; Carbon accounting and budgeting; Environmental governance; Accounting and accountability; Post-democracy


Prof Stefan Bouzarovski
Professor of Human Geography

Research specialisms: Energy and fuel poverty; Infrastructure development; Urban spatial inequality; Multi-level governance; Social network analysis


Prof Alison Browne
Professor in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Everyday life; Water, energy, food, waste, plastics; Sustainable consumption and production; Governance and sustainability transitions; China, UK, Australia


Prof Noel Castree
Professor of Geography

Research specialisms: Political economy; Marxism; Environmental change; Expertise; Politics of knowledge


Prof Gareth Clay
Professor in Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Peatlands; Wildfire; Terrestrial carbon cycling; Upland land management; Urban physical geography


Dr Polyanna da Conceição Bispo
Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Earth observation; Ecosystem processes and modelling; Forest Structure, Dynamics and disturbances; Tropical forests


Dr Christopher Darvill
Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Quaternary science; Glacial geomorphology; Geochronology; Cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating; Ice sheet reconstruction


Dr Matthew Dennis
Senior Lecturer in Geographical Information Science

Research specialisms: Urban ecology; Landscape ecology; Social-ecological systems; Green Infrastructure; Nature conservation


Dr Martin Dodge
Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Historical geography; Cartography; Visual geographies; Manchester


Dr Jamie Doucette
Reader in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Geographical political economy; Labour geographies; Politics and space; Developmentalism and democratization


Prof James Evans
Professor of Human Geography

Research specialisms: Urban living labs; Sustainable cities; Smart cities; Governance; Mobile methods


Prof Martin Evans
Professor of Geomorphology

Research specialisms: Peatland erosion and restoration; Peatland geomorphology, biogeochemistry and ecosystem services; Natural Flood Risk Management (NFM) in upland environments


Dr Richard Figueroa Alfaro
Lecturer in Geographical Information Science (GIS)

Research Specialisms: Geographical Information Systems; Earth observation; Remote sensing; Environmental processes; and Nature-based solutions


Dr William Fletcher
Professor in Physical Geography and Quaternary Science

Research specialisms: Mediterranean environments; Palaeoecology; Palaeoclimatology


Dr Aurora Fredriksen
Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Research specialisms: More-than-human geographies; Affect and emotion; Wildlife; Feminist science studies; Environmental humanities


Dr Claire Goulsbra
Reader in Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Hydrology; Geomorphology; Carbon dynamics; Peatland environments; Novel technologies


Prof Sarah Marie Hall
Professor of Human Geography

Research specialisms: Feminist political economy; Everyday life; Austerity and crisis; Social difference; Ethnographic and creative methods


Dr Angela Harris
Reader in Remote Sensing

Research specialisms: Earth observation; Vegetation dynamics; Ecosystem processes; Geospatial modelling; Peatland landscapes


Dr Caitlin Henry
Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Feminist political economy; Social reproduction and care; Labour; Health; Everyday life


Prof Martin Hess
Professor of Economic Geography

Research specialisms: Economic geography; Global production networks; Development and labour; Cultural political economy


Dr Jonathan Huck
Professor in Geographical Information Science; Director of Social Responsibility

Research specialisms: Computational Geography; Participatory GIS; Global Health; Environmental Geography; Segregation and Conflict


Dr Anna Hughes
Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Palaeoglaciology; Geochronology; Glacial geomorphology; Quaternary science; Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing


Prof Philip Hughes
Head of Department; Professor of Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Quaternary science; Glacial geomorphology


Dr Ross Jones
Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Moral geographies; Pedagogical methods; Controversial issues; Philosophy and ethics; Political economy


Prof Sarah Lindley
Professor of Geography

Research Specialisms: Urban ecosystem functions, climate risk and adaptation,  social vulnerability, health & wellbeing geographical information science


Prof Karen Lucas
Professor of Human Geography

Research specialisms: Social class, Equity, mobilities, energy justice


Dr Nate Millington
Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies

Research specialisms: Urban political ecology; Climate change; Water governance; Waste


Dr Jennifer O'Brien
Professor in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Sustainable development; Ethical action; Empowering teaching


Dr Nerea Okong'o
Senior Tutor in Human Geography


Dr Saska Petrova
Professor in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Vulnerability and precarity; Gender and infrastructure; Environmental governance; Rural and peri-urban communities; Post-colonial political ecologies


Prof James Rothwell
Professor of Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Environmental pollution; Green infrastructure; Peatlands; Hydrology


Dr Peter Ryan
Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography


Dr Emma Shuttleworth
Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Hydrology and geomorphology; Peatlands and UK uplands; Landscape restoration and natural flood management; Sediment and contaminant dynamics; Science communication


Prof Fiona Smyth
Deputy Dean and Vice Dean for Teaching, Learning and Students


Dr Abi Stone
Reader in Physical Geography

Research specialisms: Quaternary science; Drylands; Geochronology (luminescence, U-Th); Geoarchaeology; Hydrogeology


Prof Erik Swyngedouw
Professor of Human Geography

Research specialisms: Political ecology; Democratization; Hydro-social change; Political conflict; Urban insurgencies


Dr Cristina Temenos
Senior Lecturer in Urban Geography

Research specialisms: Urban geography; Policy mobilities; Political geography; Social movements; Drug policy, health inequalities, and austerity


Dr Craig Thomas
Lecturer in MSc Environmental Governance


Dr Matt Tomkins
Lecturer in MSc Geographical Information Science

Research Specialisms: Spatial analysis; Geographical Information Science; Glacial geomorphology; Geochronology; Cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating


Dr Mark Usher
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Geography

Research specialisms: Urban nature and ecology; Water politics and governance; State, territory and citizenship; Infrastructure and transitions; Governmentality and biopolitics


Prof Kevin Ward
Professor of Human Geography

Research specialisms: Economic governance; Infrastructure and cities; Policy mobilities; Public finance; Urban and regional political economy


Dr Saskia Warren
Senior Lecturer in Human Geography

Research specialisms: Creative urban economies; Migration and belonging; Muslim identities, Islamophobia and racism; Gender and feminist geopolitics


Prof Jamie Woodward
Professor of Physical Geography

Research specialisms: River histories; Mediterranean geomorphology; Microplastics in river catchments; Geoarchaeology; Ice Age environments


Dr Yawei Zhao
Lecturer in Socio-Cultural Geography

Research Specialisms: Lifestyle migration; Urban politics and governance; Digital technologies; Rural-urban relationships; Smart cities


Research associates and fellows


Dr Elizabeth Ackerley
Research Associate

Research Specialisms: Youth politics and activism; austerity; geographies of children and young people; ethnographic and participatory methods


Dr Danielle Alderson
Research Associate

Research specialisms: Peatlands; Fluvial geomorphology; Lateral carbon cycling; Organic matter dynamics 


Dr Jamie Anderson
Research Fellow


Dr Benjamin Bell
Research Associate

Research specialisms: Quaternary science; Environmental and climate change; Pollen geochemistry; Cedrus atlantica


Dr Alison Briggs
Research Associate


Mr Joseph Cahill
KTP Associate


Dr Ami Crowther
Research Associate


Dr Timna Denwood
Research Associate


Dr Laura Fenton
Research Associate


Mr Adam Johnston
Research Associate (Protect Project)


Dr Matina Kapsali
Urban Studies Foundation Research Fellow

Research Specialisms: Feminist geography; Social reproduction and care; Everyday life and activism; Urban political movements; Creative, ethnographic and participatory methodologies


Dr Santiago Leyva del Rio
Research Associate


Dr Diederik Liebrand
Postdoctoral Research Associate


Dr Jess Linz
Research Associate


Dr Ana María Pacheco Pascagaza
Research Associate (NERC project Toward a UK fire danger rating system: Understanding fuels, fire behaviour and impacts)

Research specialisms: Earth observation; Vegetation Structure, Tropical forests, Deforestation and forest degradation monitoring.


Dr Laura Pottinger
Simon Research Fellow

Research Specialisms: People and plant relationships; activism; young people's politics; creative, ethnographic and participatory methods.


Dr Jonny Ritson
Research Fellow

Research Specialisms: Carbon cycling, water treatment, peatlands, carbon policy.


Mx Magdalena Rodekirchen
Research Associate


Dr Mehebub Sahana
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Research Specialisms: Research specialisms: transboundary river basin management; landscape ecology; socio-ecological resilience; climate risk and adaptation; rural-urban conversion; geographical information science.


Mr Andrew Speak
Research Associate


Dr Laurie Waller
Research Associate


Miss Kirsty Watkinson
Research Associate


Professional support staff


John Moore
Faculty Head of Technical Operations

John provides leadership for, and the management of technical services including the Geography Laboratories within the Faculty of Humanities.


Dr Ben Bell
Laboratory Technician

Ben is working with the Great North Bog project, with the aim to monitor the restoration of peatlands in the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines. Ben has a specialist background in geomorphology, palaeoecology, and palynology geochemistry (stable carbon isotope analysis and biomarker analysis).


Dr Tom Bishop
Research and Teaching Technician

Tom is responsible for managing the SEED laboratories. Tom is also the Radiation Safety Supervisor and the Uncrewed Aerial Systems Manager for Geography. He has specialisms in palaeoecology, environment pollution, and statistical analysis. Initial enquiries and external requests relating to the labs can be directed to Tom.


Ms Holly Flannaghan
Geography Laboratory Technician


Mr Jonathan Lillie
Senior Technical Operations Manager


Dr Gail Millin-Chalabi
Project Manager


Rebecca Self 
Research Technician

Becky monitors the upland peatland demonstrator site for the BBRSC funded Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) project and measures gas flux from restored peatland and pools. She also operates the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) for microplastic analysis. Becky has a background in natural sciences and ecology having previously worked for the Environment Agency as an Assistant Scientist.


Jonathan Yarwood
Laboratory Technician

Jon operates a broad range of our most complex analytical kit, including our spectroscopy and chromatography analytical equipment. They have extensive experience in all our methods preparing and analysing environmental samples of sediments, waters, and air for elemental and isotopic composition.