The ECR Committee:

Newcastle University

Natalia Zografou-Barredo

Research Associate

Dr Natalia Zografou-Barredo, PhD, is a Research Associate in Energy Systems at the School of Engineering in Newcastle University. She works in research and innovation projects with industry, academia, and more recently, energy regulation. Her research focuses on climate and energy systems resilience, and spans across hydrogen integration and whole energy systems. Natalia was awarded the competitive EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship to continue research after her PhD studies and recently completed a 3-month secondment at Ofgem, the GB energy regulator. Currently she is co-leading the £500K EPSRC-funded research project ResTOrES on resilience of offshore energy systems and leading work under the £9m EPSRC Supergen Energy Networks Hub project.

The University of Bristol

Guarav Sen

PhD Student

Currently doing a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, focussing on the localisation of microgrids and their socio-techno-economic impacts. Research interests include energy access especially in remote areas, community development, and energy sustainability

Cardiff University

Shuai Yao

Research Associate

Shuai is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the School of Engineering, Cardiff University. His research interests lie in modelling, simulation and operational optimization of Multi-Vector Energy Systems including electricity, heating/cooling, natural gas and hydrogen at different temporal and spatial scales. Currently, He is working on two EPSRC-funded projects – Supergen Energy Networks Impact Hub 2023 and Hydrogen Integration for Accelerated Energy Transitions (HI-ACT).

Email: yaos8@cardiff.ac.uk

Manchester Metropolitan University

Yakubu Tsado

Lecturer

Dr Yakubu Tsado is a Lecturer in Cyber Security and Smart Grid in the Department of Computing and Mathematics at Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. Yakubu received a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria, an M.Sc. degree in Communication Engineering & Digital Signal Processing from Lancaster University, U.K., and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering (Smart Grid) from the same University.

Email: y.tsado@mmu.ac.uk

University of Manchester

Yitian Dai

Research Associate

Yitian Dai received her B.Eng and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from The University of Manchester in 2019 and 2024, respectively. She is currently working as a Research Associate with the Supergen Energy Networks Hub at The University of Manchester. Her research interests include cascading blackout analysis and resilience assessment of future low-carbon energy systems.

Durham University

Jinjie Liu

Research Associate

Dr. Jinjie Liu is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham University working on AI for low-carbon energy transitions, including microgrids, virtual power plants, carbon accounting, and digital twins. She received a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from North China Electric Power University in 2018 and a Ph.D. in Computer and Information Engineering from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2023. She has contributed to two EPSRC-funded projects (VPP-WARD and Cheddar). Email: Email: jinjie.liu@durham.ac.uk.

Kingston University, London

Goyal Awagan

Lecturer

Goyal Awagan is a Lecturer in Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Robotic Engineering at Kingston University, London, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She received her B. Tech in Electrical Engineering in 2013 and M.E in Electrical Power Systems in 2016 from India, followed by a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Raipur, India, in 2024. Prior to joining Kingston University, she worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Northumbria University, UK, contributing to two UKRI-funded projects: VPP-WARD and SustainAIRA6G. Her research focuses on microgrid protection, cyber-physical energy systems, cybersecurity, distributed energy systems, and the application of artificial intelligence to power systems. Her work aims to support the development of secure, resilient, intelligent, and sustainable future energy networks.

University of Leicester

Jinning Zhang

Lecturer

Jinning Zhang is a Lecturer in the Green Energy and Transport Group at the School of Engineering, University of Leicester. She received her MSc (2019) and PhD (2022) in Aerospace Propulsion from Cranfield University. Her research focuses on the integration of sustainable energy sources, such as batteries and hydrogen, into propulsion and power systems, addressing the energy and environmental challenges of future sustainable aviation, and exploring synergies between air transport and energy networks to enable integrated strategies for carbon footprint reduction

University of Nottingham

Promise Uzondu Chukwu

Mr. Promise Uzondu Chukwu is a Deputy Director at the Energy Commission of Nigeria, where he has served for over sixteen years. He is currently on study leave at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, pursuing doctoral research focused on the Techno‑Economic Assessment (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of hydrogen production. His professional and academic interests centre on advancing a sustainable and just energy transition in Africa, with particular emphasis on hydrogen as a strategic pathway. Beyond his professional commitments, he enjoys watching football and actively seeks opportunities to expand his network with like‑minded professionals and global energy leaders.

Cardiff University

Emmanouil Perisoglou

Lecturer

Emmanouil (Manos) Perisoglou is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), and Lecturer in Architectural Science at Cardiff University’s Welsh School of Architecture. He is the Technical Lead of the Centre for Low Carbon Built Environment, where he provides technical leadership for research, knowledge exchange, and industry engagement activities focused on sustainable buildings and housing. His work specialises in low-carbon buildings, renewable energy integration, building performance evaluation, and retrofit. Manos has extensive experience in modelling, monitoring, instrumentation, and data analysis of real-world energy systems. He has contributed to collaborative research projects with academic, industry, government, and housing-sector partners, published widely, and supports teaching, professional practice, and interdisciplinary collaboration in the sustainable built environment.