Meet the team

Mark Howells is the CCG Programme Director. He  is jointly appointed at Loughborough University and Imperial College, London. Previously at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden he set up their prestigious Energy Systems Analysis programme. He led the development of some of the world's premier open source energy, resource, and spatial electrification planning tools; published in several Nature Journals; coordinated the European Commission's think tank for Energy; is regularly used by the United Nations as a science-policy expert; and is a key contributor to UNDESA's 'Modelling Tools for Sustainable Development Policies' initiative. His work has contributed to efforts for… [Read more]

Ed Brown is the is the CCG Programme Deputy Director. Ed's research interests lie in the fields of governance and international development issues with current research outputs focusing upon: energy access and low-carbon energy transitions; questions of transparency and corruption; and financial globalization and the financial needs of the poor. Ed has also long had a particular interest in the Central American region where he has explored the political economy of state reforms as well as the broader impacts of neoliberal globalization. Recently, much of Ed's activity has been focused on issues surrounding the uptake of low-carbon energy technologies within… [Read more]

Yacob Mulugetta is in charge of the Partnerships Directorate for CCG. He is a Professor of Energy and Development Policy at the University College London and held an academic post at the Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, UK. He is a founding member of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) based in Ethiopia where he worked as Senior Climate & Energy Specialist (2010–2013). He has 25 years of research, teaching, and advisory experience specializing on the links between energy infrastructure provision and human welfare. His research is focused on three… [Read more]

Jim Watson is the CCG Research Director. He is Professor of Energy Policy and Research Director at the Institute of Sustainable Resources, University College London (UCL). He was previously Research Director and Director of the UK Energy Research Centre from 2013 to 2019, and Director of the Sussex Energy Group, University of Sussex from 2008 to 2013. Jim has over 25 years’ research experience on climate change, energy, and innovation policy. This includes leading interdisciplinary research on the UK energy transition, international collaborations with colleagues in China, India, Ghana, and Zambia, and a period as a Visiting Scholar at the… [Read more]

Stephanie Hirmer is the CCG Research Manager and leads the Advanced GIS modelling workstream. She is a Senior Researcher in Energy Systems at the Energy and Power Group at the University of Oxford where she looks at integrating community viewpoints into energy-related decision-making.  She is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge where she completed her PhD and now delivers a course on Energy, Development and Rural Livelihood. She is a co-founder and Director of Research and Innovation at Rural Senses Ltd., a social enterprise that uses AI-enhanced data analysis and user-centric… [Read more]

Will Usher is the CCG Platform Manager. He is an experienced modeller and researcher of energy and infrastructure systems at KTH Royal Institute of Technology where he works as a Professor of Integrated Systems Analysis for Sustainable Development. He joined the division in 2019 and brings his experience of leading large open-source research projects to the home of OSeMOSYS, CLEWS, and OnSSET. Will Usher’s research interests bridge three related themes: model integration and infrastructure system-of-systems; energy systems optimization modelling and transition pathways; and decision-making under uncertainty and uncertainty quantification. His research approach is grounded in engineering, but highly interdisciplinary, bringing… [Read more]

Steve Pye is the CCG Contract & Publics Goods Project Manager. He is an Associate Professor of Energy Systems at the UCL Energy Institute, University College London (UCL). Steve has 15 years’ research experience on energy and climate modelling and policy analysis. His research concerns the challenge of energy system decarbonization, using different whole system energy modelling approaches, with a particular focus on scenario modelling of national and global low-carbon pathways, uncertainty assessment, and the equity and health dimensions of energy transitions. Steve’s research track record is reflected in over 40 peer review journal articles and numerous technical reports and… [Read more]

Nilay Shah oversees the CCG COP engagement. He is Director of the Centre for Process Systems Engineering at Imperial College London. He works on energy systems modelling and engineering, bio-based process systems, hydrogen infrastructures, supply chain modelling, process optimization, biochemical process design, and plant safety. He is particularly interested in the transfer of technology and expertise from academia to industry. [Read more]

Lara Allen is the CCG National Engagement Lead. She is the CEO of the Centre for Global Equality (CGE), a Cambridge-based civil society organization that enables the evolution of innovative solutions to global challenges by facilitating productive interactions between academia, civil society, government, business, and under-resourced communities in developing countries. She is also an Affiliated Lecturer in Inclusive Innovation at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, where she directs the Inclusive Innovation Programme. She has more than ten years of experience as an international development practitioner, having worked as a consultant, employee, and volunteer with grassroots… [Read more]

Adam Hawkes leads the CCG System Design Workstream. He is a Reader in Energy Systems at Imperial College London, Director of the Sustainable Gas Institute, and Programme Lead for Energy Modelling at the Grantham Institute. He is Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition journal, a new partner open access journal to the high impact Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. A Chartered Engineer, Dr Hawkes has more than 20 years’ experience of technical leadership and management in the field of greenhouse gas mitigation approaches, energy technology assessment, and systems design and modelling. Adam has worked on key emerging challenges… [Read more]