Our Team

Meet the people that make the Walker Institute what it is.

Our people come from a wide range of backgrounds and areas of expertise, but they all have one thing in common. They’re committed to using scientific research to help the people who are most at risk from the impacts of climate change.

Walker Core Team

Rosalind Cornforth

Rosalind Cornforth

Walker Institute Director

Celia Petty

Celia Petty

Deputy Director, Strategic Lead Livelihoods

Ted Shepherd

Ted Shepherd

Grantham Chair in Climate Science and Professor in the School of Mathematical Physical & Computational Sciences

Elena Saggioro

Elena Saggioro

Research Fellow

Zarina Saidaliyeva

Zarina Saidaliyeva

Research Assistant

Marah McGuire

Marah McGuire

Operations Support Officer

Konstantina Pratta

Konstantina Pratta

Walker Academy Support Coordinator/Facilitator

Ashley Burke

Ashley Burke

International Partnership Manager

Karen Lawrence

Karen Lawrence

HR Advisor

Emma Robinson

Research Accountant

Research Students and Interns

Lynn De Miranda

Lynn De Miranda

Walker Intern, Food Biosystems DTP, School of Biological Sciences

Robert Muthami

Robert Muthami

Research student-PhD -EITTA programme (Walker Institute) and School of Law

Stella Ngoleka

Stella Ngoleka

Research student-PhD -EITTA programme (Walker Institute) - School of Mathematics, Physical and Computational Sciences

Will Shields

Will Shields

Research Student - PhD - EITTA Programme (Walker Institute), School of Mathematics, Physical and Computational Sciences

Fiona Spuler

Fiona Spuler

Research Student-PhD (Walker Institute), School of Mathematics, Physical and Computational Sciences

Walker Institute Associates

Andrew Ainslie

Andrew Ainslie

Associate Professor in the Department of International Development in the School of Agriculture Policy & Development, University of Reading

Richard Allan

Richard Allan

Professor in the Department of Meteorology in the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences, University of Reading

Alex Arnall

Alex Arnall

Associate Professor of Environment and Development / Human Geography in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Tabarak Ballal

Tabarak Ballal

Professor and Programme Director of MSc Construction Management and International Development in the School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading

Andrew Bennett

Andrew Bennett

President of the Tropical Agricultural Association

Jake Bishop

Jake Bishop

Lecturer in Crop Science and Production in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading

Jochen Broecker

Jochen Broecker

Associate Professor in the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences, University of Reading

Anlan Chen

Anlan Chen

Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Henley Business School and a member of the Centre for Euro-Asian Studies and Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship

Dai Clegg

Dai Clegg

Visiting Researcher at Reading University

Lord Crisp

Lord Crisp

Co-Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health & Former CEO of NHS

Rohan Deb Roy

Rohan Deb Roy

Associate Professor in South Asian History in the School of Humanities, University of Reading

Irem Dikmen

Irem Dikmen

Professor in the School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading

Emmanuel Essah

Emmanuel Essah

Associate Professor in the School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading

Irene Garnelo-Gomez

Irene Garnelo-Gomez

Programme Director for the BSc in Business and Management (Marketing) and a Fellow of the HEA, Henley Business School

Manuela Gonzalez-Suarez

Manuela Gonzalez-Suarez

Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading

Chris Hilson

Chris Hilson

Professor of Law In the School of Law, University of Reading

Sir Brian Hoskins

Sir Brian Hoskins

Emeritus Professor of Meteorology, University of Reading

Selam Kidane Abebe

Selam Kidane Abebe

Senior Research Fellow in Net Zero Law at the Oxford Net Zero Programme at the University of Oxford

Vanessa Lawrence

Vanessa Lawrence

Former Director General and CEO, Ordnance Survey, Great Britain’s national mapping agency working globally in the application of Space, Geospatial and AI

Valerio Lucarini

Valerio Lucarini

Professor of Statistical Mechanics

John Methven

John Methven

Professor of Atmospheric Dynamics in the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences, University of Reading

Lisa Methven

Lisa Methven

Professor of Food and Nutritional Sciences in the School of Chemistry Food & Pharmacy, University of Reading

Alexander Mihailov

Alexander Mihailov

Associate Professor in Economics in the School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Reading

Virginia Murray

Virginia Murray

Consultant in Global Disaster Risk Reduction at Public Health England

Richard Nunes

Richard Nunes

Associate Professor of Planning and Sustainability in the Henley Business School

Aida Opoku-Mensah

Aida Opoku-Mensah

Former UN Economic Commission for Africa Chief of Staff to the Executive Secretary & Special Advisor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ICT

David Phizacklea

David Phizacklea

People networking, business systems and technical troubleshooting expert

Richard Selby

Richard Selby

Head of portfolio - NTD Research, Sightsavers

Deepa Senapathi

Deepa Senapathi

Associate Professor in the Department of Sustainable Land Management in the School of Agriculture Policy & Development, University of Reading

Maria Shahgedanova

Maria Shahgedanova

Professor of Climate Science at the Department of Geography and Environmental Science in the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading

Joy Singarayer

Joy Singarayer

Professor of Palaeoclimatology in the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences, University of Reading

Stefan Thor Smith

Stefan Thor Smith

Professor in the Department of Construction Management and Engineering & Research Division Lead in the School of the Built Environment, University of Reading

Aondover Tarhule

Aondover Tarhule

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Illinois State University