The Team

Prof. Janet Barlow

Director of ACTUAL. Professor of Environmental Physics (SMPS) and Director of the Centre for Technologies for Sustainable Built Environments (TSBE, SCME) – University of Reading, UK

“I oversee the creation and use of our Urban Atmospheric Laboratory and investigate the research linking sustainable engineering with urban climate processes.”

Dr Christoforos Halios

Post-Doc – University of Reading

“My research focuses on the turbulence structure of the Urban Boundary Layer.”

Dr Daniel Drew

Post-Doc – University of Reading, UK

“I am investigating the representation of wind and turbulence profiles in the various wind loading standards, with a view to examining their accuracy with measurements made using a Doppler Lidar in Greater London.”

Dr Alex Boon

Post-Doc – University of Reading, UK

“I handle the dissemination of research from the ACTUAL project to industry, policy and the public. I also am investigating the ‘source area’ of urban measurements of gases and polluants.”

Mr John Lally

Project Technician – University of Reading, UK

“I am responsible for the installation and maintainance of measuring, logging and data retrieval systems.”

Aidan Brocklehurst

PhD Student – University of Reading, UK.

PhD Topic: “The Effect of Urban Climate on Urban Energy Supply and Demand”

“I am studying the energy balances on building surfaces so as to measure and model the causes of overheating.”

Siân Lane

PhD Student – University of Reading, UK.

PhD Topic: “Assessing the Validity and Impact of Urban-Scale Numerical Weather Prediction”

“My project involves comparing our data from central London with forecasts from the Met Office’s UK forecast model. I would like to understand how the simple representation of cities in the model affects weather forecasts for London.”

Wagner Nogueira Neto

PhD Student – University of Reading, UK.

PhD Topic: “The Dependence of Urban Climate on Building Layout and Design”

“My work involves the use of wind tunnel modelling to quantify heat transfer for different urban morphologies.”

Prof. Stuart Bradley

Project Partner, University of Auckland, NZ.

“I am developing a novel bistatic Urban SODAR in collaboration with the ACTUAL project to measure low level winds and turbulence.”

Past Team Members

Dr. Curtis Wood

Former Project Manager (Now in the Finnish Meteorology Institute)

Former Post-Doctoral Researcher – University of Reading, UK.

Curtis used to manage the project on a day-to-day basis and conduct research into urban atmospheres.

Luca Caporaso

Former Visiting PhD Student – University of Bologna, Italy.

PhD Topic: “Detection and Modelling of Boundary Layer Height”

“I am comparing the evolution of the planetary boundary layer height as predicted by numerical simulation to what is measured by in-situ and on board of aircraft instruments.”

Project Partners

Collaborators