Meet the team – Policy and Innovation Group

The team

The Policy and Innovation Group is composed by enthusiastic researchers dedicated to the analysis and promotion of ocean energy. The team is led by Mr Henry Jeffrey, Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

Team leader

Mr Henry Jeffrey - Henry Jeffrey is a specialist in ocean energy roadmaps, action plans and strategies. He is co-director for SuperGen ORE (Offshore Renewable Energy) UKCMER and leads the Policy and Innovation Group in the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Energy Systems. He also chairs the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) Ocean Energy Joint Programme (JP)and collaborates on numerous European ocean energy projects. He holds a position as the Chairperson of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Ocean Energy Systems (OES) programme, which is a government/government policy group responsible for supporting knowledge exchange and collaboration between countries and organisations active in the ocean energy sector.
Visit his LinkedIn profile here.

Research Support

Mrs Doreen Gessner - Doreen has a bachelor’s degree in business/accounting and a master’s in education. She has several years of experience in administration and academia. As the Research Support Officer, she does the administrative work for the group, applying her experience to help keep the team running smoothly. She has a passion for helping others and enjoys supporting Henry and the team.
Visit her LinkedIn profile here.

Research Associates

Ms Tianna Bloise-Thomaz - Tianna is a Civil Engineer, currently developing Global Economic Model for wave energy technologies, evaluating levelised cost of energy, life cycle assessment and socio-economic cost of energy. Her MSc thesis focused on a new methodology to link wave energy resources and the cost of wave energy device. Prior to commencing at the Policy and Innovation Group, she gained experience at Oil & Gas Industry working with structural integrity and design of sub-sea structures. She has interest in energy industry, environmental sustainability and efficient designs.
Visit her LinkedIn profile here.

Ms Leonore van Velzen - Leonore is a Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Technology with a Bachelor in Civil Engineering, with internships at the Wave Energy Centre (WavEC) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). She has great interest in the renewable energy transition and sees marine energy as part of this transition.
Visit her LinkedIn profile here.

Dr Shona Pennock - Shona is a Master of Science in Renewable Energy Systems and the Environment and an alumna of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind Energy Systems at the University of Strathclyde. Her PhD focused on the impact of a single European energy market on the economics and operation of wind power in Scotland, using various dispatch models to investigate the impact of introducing zonal pricing within GB due to the current CfD subsidy framework. During the course of her PhD she undertook an internship at the Scottish Government and volunteered as a STEM ambassador. She is particularly interested in the economic and technical challenges facing the marine energy sector.
Visit her LinkedIn profile here.

Dr Donald Noble - Donald is a civil and environmental engineer with a focus on water and renewable energy. His EngD considered testing marine renewable energy devices in a combined wave-current environment at the University of Edinburgh's FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, as part of the Industrial Doctorate Centre of Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE). He also has prior experience of hydrology and flood risk assessment, plus the development, consenting, and environmental impact assessment of small hydropower and flood alleviation schemes.
Visit his LinkedIn profile here.

Ms Charlotte Cohrane - Charlotte is a Master of Science in Global Energy Management with an Honours degree in French. Her MSc thesis focused on the application of a local wind powered electric vehicle distribution fleet serving Glasgow’s retail centre. Prior to starting at the Policy and Innovation Group Charlotte worked in energy consulting at a firm specialising in technology and innovation. Charlotte is particularly interested in the socioeconomic benefit afforded Scotland by marine energy opportunities.
Visit her LinkedIn profile here.

Dr Anup Nambiar - Anup is a sustainability enthusiast specialising in renewable power generation in the electrical power system. His main areas of interest are in the resource-to-wire modelling and control of wave and tidal converters and arrays, distributed generation and smart grids. He has experience in power system modelling, network integration of renewables and in the optimisation, control, numerical modelling and physical testing of marine energy converters and arrays.
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Mr Gerard Avellaneda Domene - Gerard is a Master of Science in Marine Renewable Energy, with focus on project development and appraisal, and Bachelor in Physics specialized in physical oceanography. He has done internships at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), University of Edinburgh and Aalborg University, where he acquired experience with numerical modelling of wave energy converters.
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Dr Anna Garcia-Teruel - Anna is a Mechanical Engineer specialised in Energy and Process Engineering. She previously did a PhD in wave energy, where she created a framework to generate novel and optimised Wave Energy Converter (WEC) designs. She also has previous experience with energy system modelling from her MSc thesis at the German Aerospace Centre. She is particularly interested in the application of design optimisation to generate innovative concepts for offshore renewable energy technologies and support their path towards commercialisation.
Visit her LinkedIn profile here.

Ms Shovana Talukdar - Shovana is an environmental enthusiast with a master’s in Carbon Finance, an MBA and a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. For her MSc thesis, she produced an in-depth analysis and insight on corporate procurement of renewable energy through Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), in collaboration with Wood Mackenzie. She also has experience in the financial services sector while working as a Senior Financial Analyst for Time Incorporation. Her interests include climate finance, environmental policy and clean technology.
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Ms Maria Vanegas - Maria Vanegas is a renewable energy devotee with an M.Eng. in Energy and Environmental Management and a B.Eng. in Industrial Engineering. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. in modelling and planning of sustainable energy systems. Before joining the Policy and Innovation Group, Maria gained experience in the Oil industry working for Esso and DNV GL in Nicaragua and Germany respectively.
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Associated PhD students

Mr Owain Roberts - Owain's PhD research focuses on techno-economic assessment for early-stage wave energy development and methods for identifying commercially promising wave energy concepts. He has an MSc in Geophysics and is funded through the Wind and Marine Energy Systems CDT.
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Mr Paul Kerr - Paul is a Master of Mechanical Engineering with Renewable energy. His PhD research investigates the potential of novel technologies to enable development and commercialisation in the wave energy sector, with collaboration from Wave Energy Scotland. Prior to this, under supervision from Henery Jeffery and Leonore van Velzen, his MEng thesis explored strategy planning for offshore renewables in the Canary Islands. During his undergraduate study Paul gained experience in the offshore renewables industry having completed placements at EMEC, Xodus and Aquatera.
Visit his LinkedIn profile here.