Dr. Hannah Charles | Human Geography | Best Researcher Award

PhD researcher, at University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

Dr. Hannah Charles is an accomplished researcher in the field of energy justice and low-carbon housing transformation, with a sharp focus on the intersection of social housing, environmental governance, and climate policy. Her work is rooted in qualitative methodologies and dedicated to improving the lived experiences of vulnerable populations in the context of retrofitting and energy transitions. With a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Manchester, she has cultivated a multidisciplinary profile that spans academic research, policy development, stakeholder engagement, and public communication.

Professional Profile

Orcid

🎓 Education

Dr. Charles completed her PhD in Human Geography at the University of Manchester (2021–2025), supported by a prestigious ESRC CASE Studentship focused on “Social housing challenges in the low-carbon transformation towards Net Zero.” Her doctoral work passed with success in March 2025. She also holds an MSc in Environmental Governance (2018–2019), where she received a merit and a distinction for her dissertation on Extinction Rebellion’s impact on climate politics. Her undergraduate studies were in Environmental Management (2015–2018), in which she earned a 2:1 with a first-class dissertation on diet and environmental action.

💼 Experience

Dr. Charles has worked in a range of academic and research roles. As a PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, she conducted ethnographic and interview-based research, supervised by a housing association partner. She also served as a Research Assistant on the LENS project, contributing to international research on energy transitions in Southeastern Europe. In a previous role at Oxford Policy Management (2020–2021), she coordinated the global CEDIL programme, managing research contracts, budgets, communications, and reporting to the FCDO. Earlier, she worked with Praxis Sustainability and on the Horizon 2020-funded Triangulum project, where she gained experience in sustainability consulting, EU environmental policy, and city resilience research.

🔬 Research Interests

Dr. Charles’s research is deeply engaged with energy poverty, retrofit policy, and environmental justice. She specializes in exploring how social and political dynamics affect housing decarbonisation, and her research investigates issues such as resident participation, governance constraints, policy injustice, and the lived impacts of retrofitting in social housing. Her broader interests include neoliberalism’s impact on environmental policy, distributive justice, and the socio-technical dimensions of energy transitions. She employs qualitative methods—interviews, ethnography, and stakeholder analysis—to produce findings that are both rigorous and policy-relevant.

🏆 Awards

🎓 ESRC CASE Studentship – awarded for PhD research on Net Zero and social housing.

🗣️ Selected Presenter – for leading national and international conferences, including Fuel Poverty Research Network, European Network of Housing Researchers, Nordic STS Conference, and Royal Geographical Society PGR Conference.

🌍 Policy Impact Contributor – co-authored a blog for Policy@Manchester, submitted policy evidence to DESNZ, and collaborated with WWF on UK climate policy review.

📖 Peer Reviewer – reviewed journal manuscripts and book proposals, recognized for her academic service.

📚 Top Noted Publications

Title: ‘Although it’s my home, it’s not my house’ – Exploring impacts of retrofits with social housing residents
Authors: Hannah Charles, Stefan Bouzarovski, Rob Bellamy, Alexandra Gormally-Sutton
Indexing: Scopus, Web of Science (Energy Research & Social Science is indexed in both)
Year of Publication: 2025

Conclusion

Dr. Hannah Charles exemplifies the qualities of an emerging academic leader—intellectually grounded, socially conscious, and policy engaged. Her unique combination of qualitative rigor, community-centered research, and stakeholder collaboration positions her as a transformative figure in energy and climate justice. Her contributions reflect not only academic excellence but also a genuine commitment to improving housing equity and environmental governance. She is a powerful voice in the transition toward fair and inclusive climate action.