Karen Parkhill
University of York
(formerly Bangor University)
Welsh Crucible 2014
Karen obtained her BSc Geography degree at the University of Central Lancashire in 2001. She went on to complete an MSc in Environmental Management at the University of Nottingham, followed by a PhD at Cardiff University. She is now a Lecturer in Human Geography at Bangor University. Her research spans two interrelated themes: i) attitudes towards low carbon energy transitions ii) geographies of socio-technical and environmental risk (e.g. perceptions of civil nuclear power, geoengineering). In short, her work has sought to understand how publics and other stakeholders conceptualise risks related to transitioning to a low carbon society and the reasons underpinning the imperatives for transitioning (e.g. climate change mitigation). Accordingly, at the core of her research is an interest in perceptions of energy system change including forms of supply, demand practices and infrastructural change. The interaction of place, space and context underpins and flows throughout all of these interests.
Karen has now relocated to York and is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography in the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of York.