Dr Emmanouil Perisoglou PhD, FHEA, CEng, MIET
Being part of the Supergen Energy Networks ECR Committee has been a really positive part of my academic journey. What I have appreciated most is the sense of being welcomed as an equal and encouraged to contribute, bringing my own experience and perspective while learning from people working across different areas of energy research.
The committee is much more than a place where we meet and exchange updates. We have had opportunities to share ideas, co-develop events and contribute to funding initiatives for the wider ECR community. That ability to have a voice and help shape activities is important. It creates a supportive environment where people at different stages of their careers, and from different research backgrounds, can develop ideas, make connections and grow.
My own background sits somewhere between engineering, buildings and energy. I am a Chartered Engineer and recently became a Senior Lecturer in Architectural Science at Cardiff University, where I combine research with teaching leading the MSc Environmental Design of Buildings. I am also the Technical Lead for the Centre for a Low Carbon Built Environment (CLCBE), working on projects that explore how buildings and communities can become lower carbon, more energy efficient and increasingly able to generate and manage their own energy.
That work has gradually brought me closer to some of the questions being explored within Supergen. Buildings are not isolated from the wider energy system. As we add photovoltaics, batteries, heat pumps and other technologies, there is an increasing opportunity to think about how local generation and storage can be better managed to benefit households while also supporting the wider energy network. This connection between buildings, local energy resources and networks is also reflected in Supergen’s research around local low-carbon energy systems and flexibility.
Some of these ideas are now developing through my research projects and funding proposals, including work looking at how residential batteries and local renewable generation can be better managed under different priorities such as cost, carbon and interaction with the electricity grid. It has been useful to be part of a community where I can connect this building-scale perspective with much wider conversations about the future of energy networks.
Recently, I was very pleased to be promoted to Senior Lecturer and, with Professor Joanne Patterson and Dr Miltiadis Ionas, to receive the CIBSE Dufton Silver Medal for our research evaluating low-carbon homes. That research also brought together energy demand, renewable generation and battery storage, so there is a natural thread between where my research started and some of the questions I am now exploring.
But perhaps one of the most valuable things I have learnt is that career development is not only about individual milestones. The communities around us matter enormously. That is why I value being part of the Supergen ECR Committee. It is an inclusive and supportive space where different perspectives are welcomed and people are given room to contribute and develop. For me, that is what a good ECR community should do: create opportunities, bring people together and give both people and ideas the space to flourish.
