The new Portsmouth-based institute will connect researchers, facilities and partners to solve environmental challenges and support a sustainable future
The University of Portsmouth has officially launched its new Institute of the Earth and Environment (IEE), bringing together leading expertise to solve environmental challenges, deepen our understanding of Earth’s behaviour and help build a more sustainable future.
The new institute unites over 70 academics from interdisciplinary backgrounds, spanning the geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and human systems. By connecting expertise from across the Earth system, the IEE creates a powerful research network focused on addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing society.
After a summer of extreme heatwaves and wildfires across the UK and Europe, the new institute will deploy its cutting-edge research into three major areas:
- Build a sustainable future by supporting the transition to sustainable energy, materials and resource systems
- Develop practical solutions that help society respond to climate change, better predict natural hazards, protect ecosystems, and develop new technologies that improve environmental sustainability and quality of life
- Provide the scientific foundations for future environmental innovation by learning how the Earth has changed over time and how its many interconnected systems interact
The Institute was launched at a special event on Wednesday (9 September), bringing together University staff, PhD students and external partners from academia, industry and the public sector. The event featured keynote talks, exhibition viewings, research showcases and networking opportunities focused on collaboration and shared environmental challenges.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Vikas Kumar, opened the event and said: "The launch of the IEE and Research Showcase reflects our commitment to fostering a vibrant and inclusive research and innovation culture. By bringing together researchers, students, industry partners, and stakeholders, this event creates a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and discovery. It is through these connections that we can maximise the impact of our research and drive positive change."
University of Portsmouth researchers also delivered presentations, including Associate Professor Dr Julia Brown from the School of the Environment and Life Sciences in the Faculty of Science and Health. She spoke about water scarcity, resource management and environmental governance.
Dr Brown has been working in partnership with Portsmouth Water for several years. Portsmouth is an island city surrounded by sea - yet it faces a freshwater crisis. Despite the ocean on its doorstep, and its residents use more water per person than almost anywhere else in the UK. It is also home to chalk streams - some of the rarest and at-risk habitats due to over abstraction of drinking water.
“IEE supports and promotes impactful research,” said Dr Brown. “My research on maintaining access to safe drinking water in Africa and more locally supporting Portsmouth Water's efficiency campaigns to help protect fragile and unique habitats necessitates building partnerships and collaborations both internally with IEE experts, and externally, to help drive meaningful change for people and nature.”
John Williams from the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying in the Faculty of Technology also spoke at the launch event, providing insight on how emerging technologies can be used to support environmental sustainability. Professor Williams is Director of the University's Environmental Technology Field Station, a unique facility based at Petersfield wastewater treatment works.
This facility - established in 2000 - has laboratories and test beds which allow scientists to work on pilot scale treatment systems using real sewage. It is the base for a major collaboration with Southern Water to create an Innovation Hub for addressing the problems facing small sewage treatment sites.
Director of IEE, Professor James Darling, said: "The IEE reflects the University's commitment to tackling global challenges through interdisciplinary research, building on its established strengths in Earth and environmental research, as well as developing practical solutions to major environmental challenges."
More information about the Institute of the Earth and Environment can be found here.
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