SCENARIO students share a common interest in improving scientific understanding to address today’s and tomorrow’s environmental challenges, including climate change, air and water pollution, and biodiversity loss. Our students come from diverse backgrounds, having first degrees and/or Masters degrees in Physics, Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physical Geography, Meteorology, and Environmental Sciences; their PhD projects span many fascinating aspects of the sciences of the environment, from the atmosphere and ocean to space weather, from earthworms to elephants.
SCENARIO has hosted 140 students since 2014. Over 40 students have completed their PhDs and are now working in academia, government, and the private and public sectors, in the UK and abroad. The names and projects of current students are listed below and you can find our alumni here.
Cohort 7 (Autumn 2020 entry)
|
Fundamental Mechanisms of Arctic Summer-time Cyclone Growth and Sea-Ice Interaction
Lead supervisor: John Methven, University of Reading |
|
Love isn’t in the air: Assessing how air pollution interrupts insect sex pheromone signaling
Lead supervisor: Robbie Girling, University of Reading |
|
Developing an urban canopy model for improved weather forecasts in cities
Lead supervisor: Janet Barlow, University of Reading |
|
Sensors for real-time monitoring of drinking water quality and treatment processes
Lead supervisor: Dan Lapworth, British Geological Survey |
|
The domestication of Amazon rainforests by pre-Columbian societies
Lead supervisor: Frank Mayle, University of Reading |
|
Enhancing forecasting flood inundation mapping through data assimilation
Lead supervisor: Sarah Dance, University of Reading |
|
Extreme rainfall, flooding and climate change impact on water quality in south west catchments of the UK
Lead supervisor: Hannah Cloke, University of Reading |
|
Detecting severe weather with radars for observations-based nowcasting
Lead supervisor: Thorwald Stein, University of Reading |
|
Venus Ionised Droplet Investigations
Lead Supervisor: Giles Harrison, University of Reading |
|
Maximising the environmental benefits of gardens through optimal planting choices and understanding of occupants’ engagement
Lead supervisor: Jake Bishop, University of Reading |
|
Reducing risk to hydrological extremes with Nature-based Solutions
Lead supervisor: Hannah Cloke, University of Reading |
|
Predicting the ecological and societal impacts of species on the move with climate change in the UK
Lead supervisor: Nathalie Pettorelli, Institute of Zoology |
|
Improving convective storm simulations through scale-adaptive and flow-adaptive sub-grid methods
Lead supervisor: Bob Plant, University of Reading |
|
Using Aircraft Observations and Modelling to Improve Understanding of Mineral Dust Transport and Deposition Processes
Lead supervisor: Claire Ryder, University of Reading |
|
Using high-resolution climate models to predict increases in atmospheric turbulence
Lead supervisor: Paul Williams, University of Reading |
|
Atmosphere blocking dynamics: Persistence, re-intensification and interaction with other weather systems
Lead supervisor: Oscar Martinez-Alvarado, National Centre for Atmospheric Science/University of Reading |
|
Forecast improvements from solar wind data assimilation
Lead supervisor: Matt Owens, University of Reading |
|
Robustness of bridge structures under extreme hydraulic actions Lead supervisor: Boulent Imam, University of Surrey |
|
Pollutant transport, air quality and the urban environment
Lead supervisor: David Birch, University of Surrey |
Cohort 6 (Autumn 2019 entry)
|
Controls on the track and intensity of tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal
Lead Supervisor: Chris Holloway, University of Reading
|
|
Energy transportation in monsoon system and its variability
Lead supervisor: Andy Turner, University of Reading |
|
Combining Machine Learning and Data Assimilation to Infer, Estimate and Characterise Model Errors
Lead supervisor: Peter Jan Van Leeuwen, University of Reading
|
|
Exploiting the UK and Global COSMOS Soil Moisture Sensor Network to Provide Space Weather Alerts for Aviation and Critical Infrastructure
Lead supervisor: Keith Ryden, University of Surrey |
|
Pan-African Heatwave Health Hazard Forecasting
Lead supervisor: Hannah Cloke, University of Reading |
|
A new approach to navigating uncertainty in climate-related hydrologic risk
Lead supervisor: Ted Shepherd, University of Reading |
|
Climate Response to Short-lived Pollutants (CReSP)
Lead supervisor: Bill Collins, University of Reading |
|
The feeder stream: investigating the mechanisms causing extreme precipitation in cyclones
Lead supervisor: Helen Dacre, University of Reading |
|
Roles of woodland birds in the transmission of emerging tree diseases
Lead supervisor: Glynn Barrett, University of Reading |
|
Climate and Speciation in the Mediterranean biome
Lead supervisor: Alastair Culham, University of Reading |
|
Understanding forecast value in complex decision-making systems
Lead supervisor: David Brayshaw, University of Reading |
|
The impact of megafaunal loss and climate change on ecosystem functions in aridland ephemeral river systems
Lead supervisor: Emily Black, University of Reading |
|
Advanced methods for assimilating satellite data in numerical weather prediction
Lead supervisor: Alison Fowler, University of Reading |
|
Origins of the solar wind
Lead supervisor: Matt Owens, University of Reading
|
|
Evaluating the impact of woodland management and drinking water abstraction on groundwater-fed wetlands
Lead supervisor: Jo Clark, University of Reading |
|
Impact of risk assessments for small water supplies in low income countries in the Southern Hemisphere
Lead supervisor: Kathy Pond, University of Surrey |
|
Origin and evolution of detailed structure in coronal mass ejections
Lead supervisor: Chris Scott, University of Reading |
|
Nutrient release from coniferous woodland stimulated by changes in forest management: A new nitrate time bomb?
Lead supervisor: Martin Lukac, University of Reading |
![]() |
Multi-model data assimilation techniques for flood forecasting
Lead supervisor: Sarah Dance, University of Reading
|
![]() |
The effect of multi-scale roughness on the structure of atmospheric turbulence
Lead supervisor: Marco Placidi, University of Surrey |
|
Evaluating the multiple functions of woodlands for Natural Flood Management
Lead supervisor: Joanna Clark, University of Reading |
|
The impacts of long-term declines in insect abundance on ecosystem function
Lead supervisor: David Roy, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford |
|
The role of post-tropical cyclones for European extreme weather
Lead supervisor: Reinhard Schiemann, University of Reading/ National Centre for Atmospheric Science |
![]() |
Analysis of peatland carbon dynamics using combined optical and microwave satellite data
Lead supervisor: Keith Morrison, University of Reading |
|
Understanding microbial community dynamics and resilience in communal sink drains
Lead supervisor: Soon Gweon, University of Reading |
Cohort 5 (Autumn 2018 entry)
|
Quantifying the effectiveness of natural flood management in lowland catchments Lead supervisor: Gareth Old, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford |
![]() |
The control of cloud and moisture on extratropical cyclone evolution
Lead supervisor: Suzanne Gray, University of Reading |
|
Extracting likely scenarios from high resolution ensemble forecasts in real-time
Lead supervisor: John Methven, University of Reading |
|
Quantifying the impact of increased atmospheric CO2 and climate change on photosynthesis using Solar Induced Fluorescence
Lead supervisor: Tristan Quaife, University of Reading |
|
Understanding monsoon cloud development using Doppler weather radar and high-resolution modelling
Lead supervisor: Andy Turner, University of Reading |
|
Do microplastics transfer potentially toxic elements from water to soil?
Lead supervisor: Mónica Felipe-Sotelo, University of Surrey |
|
Deep learning atmospheric features
Lead supervisor: Bryan Lawrence, University of Reading |
|
The impact of atmosphere-wave-ocean coupling on extreme surface wind forecasts
Lead supervisor: Suzanne Gray, University of Reading
|
|
Quantifying the risk of high-impact space weather events for the power industry
Lead supervisor: Mathew Owens, University of Reading |
|
Solar wind modulation of lightning
Lead supervisor: Chris Scott, University of Reading |
|
Optimal exploitation of GNSS reflectometry signals for sensing land parameters
Lead-supervisor: Craig Underwood, University of Surrey |
|
Understanding the influence of anthropogenic aerosols on Atlantic multi-decadal variability
Lead supervisor: Jon Robson, University of Reading |
|
How can the stratosphere help us predict the weather several weeks ahead?
Lead supervisor: Andrew Charlton-Perez, University of Reading |
|
Energy transfer in marine ecosystems based on phytoplankton size structure from satellite remote sensing
Lead supervisor: Shovonlal Roy, University of Reading |
|
Interactions between radiation and convective organization
Lead supervisor: Christopher Holloway, University of Reading |
|
Using aviation meteorology to improve aircraft safety
Lead supervisor: Paul Williams, University of Reading |
|
A global perspective on the urban heat island effect
Lead supervisor: Sue Grimmond, University of Reading |
|
Quantifying responses to abrupt climate change in the Andes, South America: empirical data and model synergies
Lead supervisor: Stuart Black, University of Reading |
|
Using Sentinel satellite remote sensing data to monitor the state of grasslands across a range of management intensities
Lead supervisor: Tom Sizmur, University of Reading. |
|
Arctic sea-ice reduction: gaining new knowledge from data assimilation
Lead supervisor: Danny Feltham, University of Reading. |
Cohort 4 (Autumn 2017 Entry)
|
Translation of Remote Sensing data into Sustainable Development Indicators (TRISDI)
Lead supervisor: Stephen Morse, University of Surrey |
|
Optimal mitigation of sampling error in ensemble data assimilation
Lead supervisor: Ian Roulstone, University of Surrey. |
|
Ocean dynamics and the latitude of the ice edge
Lead supervisor: David Ferreira, University of Reading. |
|
The Outer Boundary Layer of the Outer Radiation Belt Lead supervisor: Clare Watt, University of Reading. |
|
Measuring the pulse of the Bagana volcano
Lead supervisor: Geoff Wadge, University of Reading. |
|
Atmospheric Rivers and the Land Surface: Drivers of Extreme Floods
Lead supervisor: Andrew Wade, University of Reading. |
|
Millennial-Scale History of Amazon Forest Dynamics
Lead-supervisor: Francis Mayle, University of Reading. |
|
Explaining Timescales associated with Jet Stream Variability
Lead supervisor: John Methven, University of Reading. |
|
British garden plants: a threat to the natural environment due to climate change?
Lead supervisor: Alastair Culham, University of Reading. |
|
The analysis of urban growth and surface permeability informed by earth observation data
Lead supervisor: Alex Hagen-Sanker, University of Surrey. |
|
Decadal variability of tropical cyclones: natural variability or anthropogenic influence?
Lead supervisor: Pier Luigi Vidale, University of Reading. |
|
High resolution air-sea coupling for downstream storm prediction
Lead supervisor: Maarten Ambaum, University of Reading. |
![]() |
Predicting species’ responses to climate change using spread models, data inference and climate velocities
Lead supervisor: James Bullock, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford. |
|
Trace-element incorporation into stalagmite calcite as a paleo-volcanic record: a chemical perspective
Lead supervisor: Ricardo Grau-Crespo, University of Reading. |
|
Impact on VIscosity, Reactivity and Atmospheric Lifetimes of Complex Aerosol SElf-assembly (VIRAL CASE)
Adam’s lead supervisor Christian Pfrang moved to the University of Birmingham and now Adam is part of the CENTA DTP. |
|
Impact of extreme rainfall events on the mobility of potentially toxic elements in floodplains.
Lead supervisor: Tom Sizmur, University of Reading. |
|
Surface fluxes, temperatures and Boundary Layer evolutions in the building grey zone in London
Lead supervisor: Sue Grimmond, University of Edinburgh. |
|
Mathematical Techniques for Atmospheric Convection to Improve Sever Weather Prediction
Lead supervisor: Hillary Weller, University of Reading. |
|
The Role of Updrafts in Cloud Evolution Lead supervisor: Thorwald Stein, University of Reading. CASE support from The Met Office |
|
Quantifying Arctic storm risk in a changing climate
Lead supervisor: Kevin Hodges, University of Reading. |
|
Predicting the numbers and location of seabass for sustainable management
Lead supervisor: Richard Sibly, University of Reading. |
Cohort 3 (Autumn 2017 Entry)
|
Assessing the effects of NOx and Ozone on volatile organic compound Signal Mediated Inter Actions of the silver Y moth (ANOSMIA)
Lead supervisor: Robbie Girling, university of Reading |
|
Fragmentation and melting of the seasonal sea ice cover
Lead supervisor: Danny Feltham, University of Reading. |
|
Developing high-resolution NWP for local scale air quality prediction over cities Lead supervisor: Omduth Coceal, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: Bob Plant, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: Janet Barlow, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: Syliva Bohenstengel, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: Humphrey Lean, Met Office. |
|
Contribution of near-infra-red bands of greenhouse gases to radiative forcing
Lead supervisor: Keith Shine, University of Reading. |
|
In-Flight Atmospheric Radiation Observations for Space Weather Risk Monitoring
Lead supervisor: Keith A Ryden, University of Surrey Space Centre. |
|
Cloud electrification and lightning in the evolution of convective storms
Lead supervisor: Thorwald Stein, University of Reading. |
|
Modelling functional connectivity of butterflies across landscapes using population and genetic data
Lead-supervisor: Tom Oliver, University of Reading. |
|
Thermodynamic constraints on tropical cyclone intensity and frequency
Lead supervisor: Remi Tailleux, University of Reading. |
|
Developing optical methods for catchment management to protect drinking water
Lead supervisor: Joanna Clark, University of Reading. |
|
Mathematical Modelling of atmospheric convection for better regional climate change prediction Lead supervisor: Hillary Weller, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: Chris Holloway, University of Reading. |
|
Improving the accuracy of air quality forecasts Lead supervisor: Helen Dacre, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: Marion Mittermaier, Met Office. Co-supervisor: Paul Agnew, Met Office. CASE support from The Met Office |
|
Air-sea exchanges at the ocean Mesoscale: a driver of the ocean circulation?
Lead supervisor: David Ferreira, University of Reading. |
|
How do earthworms and soil microbial communities interact to determine the fate of organic matter amendments to soil?
Lead supervisor: Liz Shaw, University of Reading. |
|
Exploring the role of deadwood in the forest carbon cycle Lead supervisor: Joanna Clark, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: Elena Vanguelova Co-supervisor: Liz Shaw, University of Reading. Co-supervisor: James Morrison CASE support from Forest Research |
|
Climate variability and extended-range flood forecasting for the Peruvian Amazon
Lead supervisor: Liz Stephens, University of Reading. |
|
Application of novel field sensors for tracking pathogens in drinking water supplies in Africa
Lead supervisor: Dan Lapworth, British Geological Survey, Wallingford. |
|
The air we breathe – quantifying stratospheric influence on extreme air pollution events
Lead supervisor: Michaela Hegglin, University of Reading. |
|
Arctic mass, freshwater and heat fluxes in high-resolution global coupled climate models
Lead supervisor: Len Shaffrey, University of Reading. |