Profile

At school I was always interested in geography, chemistry and physics most. My geography teacher was very inspiring and taught us about degradation of rainforests and how people don’t use resources responsibly. My physics teacher was also fantastic – he encouraged us to be independent and find the “why” to all our questions. With my love for the environment and physics combined I graduated from Napier University in 1993 with a BEng in Energy Engineering, and then studied Technology Management at Stirling University before taking my first professional job as an Energy Management Engineer for a local authority in Scotland. I was responsible for reducing the amount of energy used in schools and created incentives to encourage school managers to think in a more Eco way. In 1998 I completed a PhD in Environmental Engineering and took my second paying job as an Engineering Consultant. I used computer models to estimate how much energy new buildings would use. In 2000 I became a lecturer at Heriot Watt University. I teach my students about sustainability, climate change and the need to adapt our buildings, roads, bridges, and cities for a warming climate with more frequent freak weather episodes (windstorms, floods, heat waves etc).

Alarm goes – ignore it – alarm goes again – have shower – get my kids up and dressed – breakfast – pack lunches and school bags – get bikes out of garage – cycle to school with kids and lock up bikes – cycle to work.

At work there are never two days the same. I really like this. Every day has a range of e-mails to deal with – some fun – some not so fun!! Each week during semester there are lectures to give – the students expect a high quality of teaching with a good understanding and knowledge behind lectures, so I need to keep reading up-to-date science journals to keep my teaching fresh. Every day students come and knock on my door for a chat – most of them just want a bit of advice about their studies. I have three PhD students to guide – they have to be independent and find their own answers, but usually they need a bit of guidance to do this. I also have to do my own research and publish papers about energy use in buildings and carbon emissions.

Cycle back to school to collect kids – cycle home – make the dinner – help kids with homework – read bedtime stories – collapse and have a cup of tea, then watch a bit of telly or go for a run with my friend.