Dr Stirling Howieson's research falls into two main silos:

(1) Housing and health - Since the mid 1980's his research has looked at:

(a) the effect of cold indoor temperatures on excess winter deaths in Scotland

(b) the effect of condensation dampness and the  associated growth of mould fungal spores on occupant respiratory  health

(c) the role of high humidity on house dust mite colonisation and proliferation leading to a 6 fold increase in childhood asthma in Scotland over a period of 25 years

(d) the role of indoor air quality (IAQ) and a variety of common in door toxic pollutants in additive, synergistic and antagonistic combination on occupant health

(e) the role of domestic ventilation rates and mechanical ventilation with heat reclamation to improve indoor air quality without a significant running cost penalty.

(f) the design of housing to optimise the conflict between IAQ and energy efficiency using hygroscopic materials, re-active ventilation regimes (CO2 sensors) and component modularisation with 'just in time' site delivery.

(2) Exploitation of solar energy for food processing, electricity generation, water filtration and desalination, refrigeration and converting waste streams to clean burn bio-char

(a) The Sunstore Powerpan is a hybrid solar/biochar thermo-elctric appliance, won the Gran Prix and Gold Medal at the 2019 Geneva World Invention Exposition. It has also gained accreditation by the solar Impulse Foundation and its deployment in off-grid communities in sub-Saharan Africa is the subject of an award by Innovate UK under the Energy Catalyst 8 programme. 

(b) The 'Sunstore 5' under development, are a range of appliances that use  solar concentration via a unique Fresnel lens design to provide clean and desalinated water, pyrolyse waste streams to bio-char and provide heat treatment for agricultural products. A ground fridge that is used in conjunction with the Powerpan can also provide vaccine storage facilities for off-grid communities.

In the recent REF, Dr Howieson contributed to the department's impact statement that was scored at 100% by the assessment panel. This elevated the research impact to be the top  performing unit in the cognate area in the UK.