Personal statement

I am the Programme Leader for Geography and the Research Lead for Climate, Hazards and Environmental Change in the School of Sciences. 

My research interests include hazards, disasters, climate change adaptation and urban environments. My recent research projects have examined wildfire hazards and flood risk management in Ireland, and floods in the Indian Himalayas. 

My research informs my teaching contributions to degree programmes in Geography and Environmental Science. My teaching includes a particular focus on providing students with immersive learning experiences through residential fieldwork. I currently lead our Southern Spain fieldtrip and I also contribute to teaching on our Northern Italy fieldtrip. 

I hold PhD and MPhil degrees in Geography from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and first class honours BA (Geography and Legal Science), LLB, and LLM (Public Law) degrees from the National University of Ireland (University of Galway).

Prior to coming to Bath Spa, I worked as a Teaching Associate in Geography at the University of Strathclyde and as a part time Teaching Assistant in the Department of Geography and the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University.

Research specialisms 

  • Hazards and disasters
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Floods
  • Wildfires 
  • Urban environments

Research projects

Academic qualifications

  • PhD, Geography - Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
  • MPhil, Geography - Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
  • LLM, Public Law - University of Galway (First Class Honours)
  • LLB, University of Galway (First Class Honours)
  • BA, Geography and Legal Science - University of Galway (First Class Honours).

Professional qualifications

  • Fellow - Higher Education Academy.

Professional memberships

  • Geographical Society of Ireland
  • Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Journal Editing and Peer Review

  • Article peer reviews for the following journals (2012-2025): Annals of the American Association of Geographers; Applied Geography, Disasters Journal; Environment and Planning A; Environment and Planning C; Environmental Policy and Governance; Geographical Research; Global Environmental Change; International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction; Irish Geography; Journal of Environmental Planning and Management; Land Use Policy; Planning Perspectives; Planning Theory and Practice; Political Geography; Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability; Regional Environmental Change; Risk, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy; Urban Climate.
  • Joint guest editor (with Monalisa Chatterjee, University of Southern California) for a special issue of the Journal of Extreme Events on ‘Hazards in Context’ (2016-2017).

Teaching specialisms

I currently contribute to teaching on the following modules:

  • Field Course in Climate Change, Water Resources and Sustainable Communities (Southern Spain fieldtrip - Module Leader)
  • Climate Change, Energy and Society (Module Leader)
  • Geography Dissertation (Module Leader)
  • Cities and Environment 
  • Geographical Fieldwork: Hazards, Disasters and Sustainable Development (Northern Italy fieldtrip)
  • Understanding Disasters: Socio-political and geospatial analysis 

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce