Head, Energy and Climate Change Division and Chair of Sustainable Energy, University of Southhampton; Chief Scientific Adviser, Southampton City; Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Marine Energy

For more than 25 years, Prof Bahaj has pioneered sustainable energy research as the head of one of the UK’s leading university-based research groupsthe Sustainable Energy Research Group, (SERG). The aims of ECCD and SERG are to promote and conduct fundamental and applied research and pre-industrial development in the areas of energy technologies, improvements in energy efficiency and assessing the impact of climate change on the built environment. Under the leadership of Prof Bahaj, the SERG involvement in ground breaking research projects in the UK, as well as in China, the Middle East and Africa, has been pivotal. Prof Bahaj is a major contributor to the energy debate at local, national and EU levels as well as through the organisation of and participation at major international conferences and meetings.

As an experienced research team leader, Prof Bahaj has initiated and managed research in ocean energy conversion (resources, technologies and impacts), photovoltaics, energy in buildings and impacts of climate change on the built environment, resulting in over 240 published academic articles in journals and conferences of international standing (see Google Scholar publication analysis).

Dr. Bahaj has also been involved in the establishment of solar photovoltaic mini grids with storage in rural villages in East Africa. These are based on local community structures to guarantee development and project sustainability.