ICASP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Flood Forecasting Workstream Lead
Alan is the lead for the Flood Forecasting workstream drawing upon his background in flooding, weather forecasting and atmospheric observation.
Job Titles:
- Carbon Sequestration Workstream Lead
I'm principally an ‘ecohydrologist' interested in how peatlands function. My work involves understanding: how water moves through peat soils, the factors that affect the composition of peatland vegetation (which plants grow where and why?), how much carbon from the atmosphere is ‘locked up' by peatlands through plant growth and the formation of new peat, and how much carbon is returned to the atmosphere through the decay of old peat.
I have expertise in measuring transfers of water through peat soils, in measuring the exchange of carbon dioxide and methane between peatlands and the atmosphere, and in using computers to simulate these processes mathematically. An example of my work is the ecosystem model called DigiBog. This is a computer simulator of how peatlands form and develop over timescales of decades to millennia. It can be used to investigate how management activities like ditch creation and blocking affect peatlands.
I've worked on many projects for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Defra, and conservation bodies like Natural England and Natural Resources Wales. I've managed large projects such as a £1.1 M Defra programme on the effect of grip (ditch) blocking on methane release from blanket peatlands to the atmosphere.
Cath joined iCASP as Communications Officer and helps to promote our exciting work to academics, practitioners in the public sector and industry, policy makers and voluntary agencies. Her role is to keep our partners and interested parties informed about developments in our Programme and its benefits across rural and urban areas of Yorkshire.
Previously Cath worked as a communications specialist for DEFRA and the Environment Agency with a focus on high profile flood alleviation schemes, natural flood management project and improving resilience to climate change. She will also draw on her wealth of experience of working in communications teams for three local authorities and the NHS.
Job Titles:
- Drought and Flood Risk Mitigation Workstream Lead
Colin is the lead for the Drought and Flood Risk Mitigation workstream using his expertise in integrated catchment management. He is involved in several iCASP projects that are focused on natural flood management, including their installation, ongoing monitoring and inclusion in Payment for Outcomes schemes.
Dave is Deputy Director of iCASP and Director of Research Impact in the School of Earth and Environment. He moved to Leeds from the University of Liverpool in 2012, and was appointed Professor of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy in 2015. His research aims to improve understanding of the links between drainage basin evolution and the depositional archives in sedimentary basins.
Dave has supervised 45 PhD students in the Stratigraphy Group (@stratleeds), and continues to lead field-based research in South Africa and Argentina. He enjoys the challenges of co-developing research programmes and disseminating research results to partners.
Researcher Dr Stephanie Bond is supporting iCASP with her GIS and hydrological modelling skills. She will be working on projects looking at natural flood management at the Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire and the Enhanced Surface Water Flood Forecasting project.
She has just finished her PhD at the University of Leeds which looked at how season and management influence how water drains away in upland organo-mineral (OM) soil grasslands.
Key findings of Stephanie's PhD research are:-
Overland flow is common in the upland OM soil grasslands she studied (occurring up to 60% of the time)
Duncan joined iCASP in 2019 as Programme Manager and is responsible for the day to day management of iCASP including the office staff. Duncan will be drawing on his years of experience working at the Environment Agency as a regulator, planner and project manager; most recently being at the forefront of the Catchment Based Approach and setting up five of Yorkshire's Catchment Partnerships.
He also has experience as a Local Authority Flood and Coastal Defence Engineer and has worked on environmental education and conservation which will be useful skills in helping iCASP meet the needs of partners.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Researcher in Water Engineering
Ehsan is a postdoctoral researcher in Water Engineering at the the University of Sheffield. As Impact Translation Fellow for the iCASP "Living with Water Partnership Catchment Telemetry Integration" project he will be working to bring together all the telemetry data gathered by Living with Water Partnership organisations (East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Environment Agency, Hull City Council and Yorkshire Water) from across Hull and East Riding and combining it with decision-making tools to develop an ‘early warning' tool that will help increase operational preparedness and identify optimal locations for future network monitoring in the region.
Ehsan has a strong background in numerical modelling. From previous research in collaboration with industry, he has gained experience in data analysis, uncertainty quantification and developing forecasting models for water distribution systems.
Job Titles:
- a Project Support Officer
- Project Support Officer
Emma joined iCASP as a Project Support Officer, her role involves helping impact translation fellows deliver their projects, assisting with communications and impact evaluation. Having studied geography at Bangor University in North Wales, Emma enjoys the diversity of iCASP projects as it allows her to utilise skills in project development, GIS, and data processing. Drawing on past voluntary experience in Calderdale and Zambia, Emma has an affinity towards working with communities to build resilience.
Farhana Naz is a Masters postgraduate at the University of Leeds having studying Water, Sanitation and Health (WaSH) Engineering MSc. Born in Bangladesh, she travelled to UK to pursue her higher studies after being awarded the British Chevening Scholarship. Before joining iCASP, Farhana worked as a water and sanitation research assistant for Umwelt-Projekt on projects at the Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Finn is the iCASP team's Impact Officer and draws on his past experience working for Natural England, as a Catchment Sensitive Farming partnership project manager to great effect. He is responsible for identifying opportunities within the region where iCASP can have a positive and lasting impact. This is achieved through having a strong understanding of the current research base and partners' priorities.
Using this understanding he brokers relationships between scientists, undertaking catchment management research, and organisations that could benefit from this research. Finn also helps to develop co-designed projects, ensuring they run smoothly and achieve their desired results.
Joe is the iCASP Director and also Director of water@leeds, one of the world's largest interdisciplinary water research centres. Joe has been in Leeds since 2000 following degrees in Cambridge and Durham. He was at one time the UK's youngest Professor.
Joe's main expertise lies in catchment management and its impacts on soil and water processes, river flow and water quality. He has worked on peatlands, carbon cycling, flooding, sustainable agriculture, urban infrastructure impacts upon archaeology and has even studied UK tornadoes with results that featured on the BBC TV programme QI.
Job Titles:
- Sustainable Agriculture Workstream Lead
Jonathan is the lead for the Sustainable Agriculture workstream for iCASP. He draws upon extensive work on plant-soil interactions, carbon budgeting and soil health improvements by rotational grasslands. He was an advisor for the Public Goods - Soil Health iCASP project.
Job Titles:
- Social and Economic Analysis Workstream Lead
I'm a Professor of Ecological Economics at the Sustainability Research Institute specializing in understanding the socio-economic impacts of changes in water environments. I am Associate Director of water@leeds, where I help others securing funds and creating partnerships for exciting research for addressing global water challenges.
Originally from Spain, I started my academic career about 12 years ago, and have been at Leeds University since July 2015. All my research has a strong policy and social impact focus, having influenced for example Scotland's Water Resource Act (2013) and having produced materials to assist conservation practitioners in their efforts to restore peatlands. I'm passionate about all aspects of research and teaching, from the generation of knowledge to engaging with stakeholders who might benefit from that knowledge.
In iCASP I am member of the Executive Management Group, where I lead the socio-economic work and the Impact Evaluation Group, where I help monitor iCASP delivery of impact.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies
Manuel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds. His research is focused on the economic appraisal of public sector projects and policies and, in particular, cost-benefit analysis and the valuation of non-market goods such as time, accessibility, the environment and urban realm. Most of his work falls within the remit of the transport sector, where Manuel works closely with major public sector and industry organizations.
Job Titles:
- Climate Resilience Workstream Lead
Piers is the lead for iCASP's Climate Resilience workstream. He draws upon his extensive experience as an atmospheric physicist, authoring Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and as Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate. He is member of the UK Committee for Climate Change