Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal Statement
I am a Senior Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde and Deputy Director of the Strathclyde Institute for Sustainable Communities (SISC).
My research and teaching is interdisciplinary and applied, and addresses socio-technical transitions - often relating to geological resources, energy, water or integrated systems. Ultimately my work aims to inform pathways to a sustainable climate resilient future.
I am based in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering where I lead the Just Transitions researcher group, the CO2 geological storage researcher group, and am Director for our MRes programmes.
Beyond Strathclyde, I am the Deputy Editor in Chief of the journal Earth Science, Systems and Society, I am Deputy Director and ECR lead for the UKCCSRC, and sit on the Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage Directorate. I love showcasing how geoscience and engineering intersect with sustainable transitions and cross-cut societal challenges - and this motivates my role as co-director of Geoscience for the Future and co-host of the award winning Local Zero podcast.
Current topics that I am leading significant research on include:
- Geological CO2 storage: through the EU-funded UPTAKE project, which Dr Iain de Jonge-Anderson is researcher on, and the UKRI-funded UKCCSRC.
- Climate resilient water systems transitions: through the EPSRC-funded Decentralised Water Technologies programme grant, which Dr Laura Major is researcher on, and Impact Accelerator funded work on water scarcity in partnership with SEPA.
- Place-based sustainability transitions & health: through the UKRI-funded JUST-Systems project, Strathclyde's Activty Mobility Hub, and a project measuring air quality in key locations across Glasgow which researcher Caitlin Hope was researcher on.
If you are interested to learn more about my work, take a look at my project portfolio and recent publications - as well as the SISC webpages and blog.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Science, Natural CO₂ fluids in Italy: Implications for the leakage of geologically stored CO₂ , University of Edinburgh
Award Date: 1 Jan 2012
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Community Energy State of the Sector trends analysis
Hannon, M. (Principal Investigator), Roberts, J. (Co-investigator) & Speirs, J. (Co-investigator)
Scottish Power Energy Networks Holdings Limited SPEN
1/12/25 → 30/04/26
Project: Knowledge Exchange (Services/Consultancy)
-
Nourishing the skill ecosystems that matter: Skill deployment and development issues for older women in STEM roles in engineering. Diamond Jubilee PhD Studentship - Fees Award (Part-time) Dilraj Sokhi Watson
Anderson, P. (Principal Investigator), Roberts, J. (Principal Investigator) & Sokhi Watson, D. (Post Grad Student)
1/10/25 → …
Project: Research - Studentship
-
A systematic review of climate change impacts on mine water resources using the UK as a case study
Gillen, C. F., Burnside, N. M., McGrane, S. J. & Roberts, J. J., 26 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology .Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Characterising structural variation in the shallow subsurface at the Otway Basin, Australia: challenges for environmental monitoring of geological CO2 storage
McMahon, C. J., Tenthorey, E., Roberts, J., Shipton, Z., Johnson, G., Gallagher, S., Soman, R. & Feitz, A., 26 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Datasets
-
Data for "Nurturing a new industry rooted in geoscience: Stakeholder insights on Minewater Thermal in Scotland."
Deeming, K. (Creator), Shipton, Z. (Supervisor) & Roberts, J. (Supervisor), University of Strathclyde, 26 Nov 2024
DOI: 10.15129/e7b2f725-2e9b-45cf-8c09-b063cdda1e65
Dataset
-
Data for "National climate strategies show inequalities in global development of carbon dioxide geological storage"
Alcalde, J. (Creator), Johnson, G. (Creator) & Roberts, J. (Creator), University of Strathclyde, 21 Jan 2025
DOI: 10.15129/8792861c-eec9-450e-9416-28415cfe8565
Dataset
Prizes
-
-
Heriot-Watt Scottish Energy News Researcher of the Year Award - Energy, Infrastructure and Society
Roberts, J. (Recipient), 2015
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
-
Strathclyde Institute for Sustainable Communities' response to the UK Government's consultation on 'Community Benefits and Shared Ownership for Low Carbon Energy Infrastructure
Hannon, M. (Contributor), Cairns, I. (Contributor) & Roberts, J. (Contributor)
17 Jun 2025Activity: Public Engagement and Outreach › Policy Outreach
-
UPTAKE Webinar: National climate strategies show inequalities in global development of carbon dioxide geological storage
Roberts, J. (Speaker)
15 May 2025Activity: Public Engagement and Outreach › Public Events
Impacts
-
Scottish Government Policy Brief: Carbon Intensity of Deep Geothermal Heat in Scotland
Roberts, J. (Participant)
Impact: Policy and legislation
-
Work cited in Scottish Government's Carbon Neutral Islands Community Climate Action Plan (Barra & Vatersay)
Roberts, J. (Participant), Major, L. (Participant) & Hunter, K. (Participant)
Impact: Environment and sustainability - natural world and built environment, !!Social impacts