Kate is Chair of Transport Transitions in the Institute for Transport Studies, co-leading the Social and Political Sciences Group. Her research and practice are highly interdisciplinary and oriented towards systemically addressing social inclusion and climate change through shifting our transport system, policies, individual choices and collective practices. She is particularly interested in the implications for environment, society and governance of the ongoing technological change in the transport sector, particularly digitisation and its convergence with the energy system through electrification.
Kate’s PhD from the University of Aberdeen was in transport geography, understanding the spatial and relational aspects of transport governance in post-devolution Scotland, and Kate also has a Masters in Sustainable Rural Development. As Governance Theme Lead for the Energy Demand Research Centre, Kate is honoured and excited to play a significant role in supporting the UK to meet its Net Zero commitment and beyond through the knowledge generation and actionable insight that will be generated and applied over the next few years.
Kate is the EDRC Early Career Researcher Champion and is also a Deputy Director of the cross-university Leeds Social Sciences Institute, leading on developing capacity to commercialise social science research. She is proud to be certified as a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator, a methodology that can be used for strategy development, ideas generation and problem-solving, both individually and in non-hierarchical team-based or community settings.