Stephen Allen

Dr. Stephen Allen is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) working in the fields of energy-systems engineering and life cycle assessment.  He works in interdisciplinary teams to develop sustainable construction materials and to significantly improve in the way we use energy in our buildings.  This is essential to tackle climate change and meet the needs of a growing population.  Stephen is a Co-Investigator on the £36m Active Buildings Centre, which is designing and constructing buildings that produce more energy than they use.  Specific research interests include: 

• Energy and environmental analysis to inform design and policy (e.g. life cycle assessment, embodied energy and carbon, thermodynamic analysis, science-based carbon targets)
• Distributed energy technologies, including for thermal energy storage
• Energy management and resource efficiency in buildings and industry
• Innovative construction materials

Dr. Allen joined the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering in 2018, having previously worked as the Energy Adviser at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and as an energy and environmental consultant in industry.  He holds a First-Class MEng (Hons, 2005) and PhD (2009) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath.  Stephen’s doctoral and post-doctoral research analysed the thermodynamic and life cycle carbon performance of microgeneration for buildings.  He won the prestigious George Stephenson Medal from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 2008, and a place on the USA’s International Visitor Leadership Programme on climate change and renewable energy in 2012.

Stephen’s publications have been used by government ministers, MPs, select committees and the Committee on Climate Change, supporting the development and scrutiny of public policy.  They have also been used by professional magazines (such as Professional Engineering and Architectural Technology) to inform debate and practice in industry.  Over six years as a senior consultant and then director at companies in Bristol, Stephen helped businesses to measure and improve the environmental profile of buildings, rail transport and consumer products.  He has also worked as an engineer in remote locations in Canada and Mexico, designing and building equipment and accommodation to support ecological field research.  He is conversationally fluent in Spanish.

I am currently adverising for a PhD position on "Is building-integrated energy storage a good idea?".  See here  for details.

I am interested in supervising students studying:

• Sustainable energy technologies
• Sustainable building materials
• Low energy and low carbon design of buildings
• Thermodynamics and heat transfer
• Carbon footprinting
• Life cycle assessment