PhD in Environmental Science

Achieving large-scale energy retrofit of existing buildings is critical to meeting UK and European net-zero targets, yet progress remains slow due to high audit costs and limited availability of reliable, building-level performance data./nThis PhD will develop a novel, integrated framework to quantify both sides of the building energy balance—sun in (solar gains) and heat out (thermal losses)—using multi-sensor Earth Observation (EO) data, in-situ measurements, and machine learning. The research will combine high-resolution thermal infrared satellite data, drone-based thermography, LiDAR-derived 3D building models, multispectral imagery, and indoor measurements to diagnose building performance at façade and neighbourhood scales./nTwo comparative urban case studies will be developed: one in the UK, in collaboration with local authorities and industry partners, and one in Romania, enabling cross-climate and cross-construction analysis.