Our experts

Dr Eleni Iacovidou My research focuses on environmental management, with emphasis on resource and waste management systems. Specifically, I develop methods for performing holistic and integrated environmental, economic, social and technical assessments of resource recovery systems based on a systems thinking approach. Using this approach, I combine environmental science and engineering with an understanding of the political, organisational, structural and cultural aspects that act synergistically in a resource recovery system to highlight areas of intervention for promoting sustainability. My research is predominantly desktop based and focuses on four key areas: food waste prevention and management plastic and plastic packaging system assessment construction components reuse and modular structures waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) repair and reuse I am also interested in the implications of technological and regulatory lock-ins, the role of stakeholders in sustainability transitions, the impact of informal recycling systems on environment and society, in waste infrastructure availability and adaptation based on area-specific characteristics, the use of smart technologies for tracking components and products across the value chain, and in circular economy. Since arriving at Brunel University in October 2018, I have been involved in teaching on the MSc programme in Environmental Management and the BSc programme in Environmental Sciences. I contributed to the "Environmental Management and Legislation" (MSc) and "Research Skills, GIS and Fieldwork II" modules (BSc - Year 2). This academic year (2019/20) I will lead the module in “Environmental Management” (MSc) and the study blocks in "Environmental Governance" (BSc - Year 3) and "Sustainable Development" (BSc - Year 3).

Professor Susan Jobling I am Director of the Institute of Environment, Health and Societies and a Professor of Environmental Toxicology, with a team comprising two postdoctoral researchers, and two current PhD students. I am interested in how environmental contaminants affect the health of wildlife and humans as exposure to these is a part of our everyday lives, particularly in urban environments where 80% of UK citizens live and work. The diversity and quantity of chemicals released into the environment has risen dramatically in the last few decades and this is causing serious concern about the possible adverse effects of mixtures of these multiple chemicals on human health. The effects of contaminants on wildlife have been studied for more than 30 years, since the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. My work over the last two decades has focused on the ability of environmental contaminants to mimic chemical messengers (hormones) and alter functioning of the reproductive and endocrine systems. My current research areas include exploring new methods and models with which to determine the safety of mixtures of industrial chemicals and understanding the role of exposure to these chemicals in the manifestation of effects in fish from individual to population levels. From a regulatory perspective, my work has been influential in the development of widespread controls on some chemicals and I am always keen to make sure that my research informs policy. I also have a passion for communication of scientific results and their interpretation to the lay public. Career I completed my PhD at Brunel University (Department of Biological Sciences) in 1991 and remained at Brunel first as Postdoctoral Researcher (1995-1999) and then as a (tenured) Research Lecturer until 2002; after which I became a Senior Research Fellow (100% research tenured post). From 2004, I set up and directed a consultancy which advises governments and industries on the risks posed by environmental chemicals. In 2010 I was promoted to Professor.

Professor Danae Manika Danae Manika (PhD, University of Texas at Austin) is Professor of Marketing at Brunel Business School and Deputy Dean of the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences. Previously, Danae was Associate Head of Brunel Business School. Before joining Brunel University London, she was Professor of Marketing at Newcastle University Business School, where she led its London Campus as Academic Group Head and held the Deputy Director of Research role at Newcastle University Business School. Danae in the past has also held academic positions at Queen Mary University of London, Durham University and the University of Texas at Austin; and is currently Visiting Professor at Newcastle University and Queen Mary University of London. Prior to her academic career, Danae worked as an Account Planning Intern in advertising agencies such as Latinworks in Austin, TX, and DDB in New York. She obtained a Ph.D and a M.A. in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. Honours in Marketing from University of Stirling. Danae’s recent research has been published in journals such as: Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Psychology and Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Business Research, European Management Review, and International Business Review, amongst others. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Danae’s research focuses on effective message construction for behaviour change within the contexts of health, well-being and the environment. She is involved in various consultancies (e.g., Harrow Council, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, RECOUP, Global Action Plan, Texas Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition), and her research has been supported by £414,000+ of funding (e.g., CRUK, EPSRC/Innovate UK, NERC/NCAS, RED, and Arrow/ERDF). Danae is Section Editor for the Journal of Business Ethics (section: Marketing Ethics; FT50 journal), and Associate Editor (AE) for Business and Society and the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, while in the past she was AE for the Journal of Marketing Management (2017-21). She is also currently on the Editorial Review Boards of:Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and Journal of Marketing Management; with guest editor experience across multiple top journals. Danae also has experience as: funding reviewer for Cancer Research UK (2015-19); and track chair for the Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress Conference in 2023, the Transformative Consumer Research Conference in 2021, and the European Social Marketing Association Conference in 2016. Using an interdisciplinary approach, blending the lines between marketing, advertising and psychology her research aims to answer a fundamental marketing research question: How to diminish the knowledge-behaviour gap? Particularly, her research focuses on effective message construction for behaviour change. It takes an information processing approach, which identifies, classifies and examines cognitive (e.g., knowledge, confidence, trust, values) and affective (e.g., pride, fear, disgust) factors that influence individuals’/consumers’/employees’ decisions and choices after exposure to campaigns/messages/interventions, and translate knowledge acquisition to behaviour change/formation. Her research is theory-based but practically applicable research, and often uses health (e.g., weight control, alcohol consumption, vaccination), well-being and environmental (e.g. energy saving, recycling) social issues as the venue for understanding the knowledge-behaviour gap, with direct implications for persuasive communication and behavioural interventions that motivate health and environmental action. The campaigns/messages/interventions often examined involve digital components (e.g., websites, social media, mobile applications, online tracking tools) and technology adoption behaviours (e.g., adoption and usage of technology-based solutions). Other projects with information technology and effective message construction focus include: social media service failure apologies, online petitions, and online political engagement. Side projects include innovative research methodologies, female-disparaging adverts, and consumer animosity, amongst others. Danae’s recent research has been published in journals such as Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Psychology and Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Business Research, European Management Review, International Business Review, Information Technology and People, Studies in Higher Education, Journal of Marketing Management, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health Communication, Journal of Marketing Communications, Health Marketing Quarterly, and Multivariate Behavioral Research, amongst others. She often engages in research projects that require collaborations with other disciplines such as medicine, engineering and geography; and her research has been supported by £364,000+ of funding (e.g., CRUK, EPSRC/Innovate UK, RED, and Arrow/ERDF). She also strongly believes in the interplay and interdependence of academia, government, business and society and hence she is often involved in various consultancies (e.g., Harrow Council, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, RECOUP, Global Action Plan, Texas Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition), in line with her research (i.e., effective message construction for behaviour change). Danae is Section Editor for the Journal of Business Ethics (section: Marketing Ethics; FT50 journal), and Associate Editor (AE) for Business and Society and the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, while in the past she was AE for the Journal of Marketing Management (2017-21). She is also currently on the Editorial Review Boards of: Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and Journal of Marketing Management; with guest editor experience across multiple top journals. Danae also has experience as: funding reviewer for Cancer Research UK (2015-19); and track chair for the Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress Conference in 2023, the Transformative Consumer Research Conference in 2021, and the European Social Marketing Association Conference in 2016. Knowledge-Behaviour Gap Effective Message Construction for Behaviour Change Information Processing & Persuasive Communication Health Communication (Employee) Pro-environmental Behaviour Technology Adoption for Behaviour Change Consumer Psychology Social Marketing Advertising

Professor Karnik Tarverdi Director of Extrusion Technology at the Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing, Institute of Materials and Manufacturing, with special interests in development and application of in-house modification/development of twin screw compounding technology, reactive extrusion and processing of materials Professor Tarverdi has extensive experience and expertise in developing and using sustainable composites for the manufacture of engineering parts and innovative light weight and sustainable packaging including the use of recycled composites and the use of nano materials to enhance properties of polymer based materials He is involved in many United Kingdom and European Union funded projects and has been at the forefront of the development and exploitation of continuous extrusion blending technology for the manufacture of composites He has many patents and has published over 80 papers in compound and machine development for the manufacture and assessment of sustainable composites Professor Tarverdi lectures to MSc Students on Advanced Materials Processing, Biomedical Materials, including using Bio(degradable) polymers and fillers and Sustainable Polymers in Clear Technology and Design. Mixing, extrusion and injection moulding technologies Polymer formulation development Process-induced structuring Polymer composites Nano-materials research Natural materials processing