Darryl Newport (Professor of Energy and Sustainable Development) is the Director of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute at the University of Suffolk, UK. He is adjunct Professor of Sustainable Materials Engineering at the University of East London. He has a wide research interest, working in a wide range of interdisciplinary areas including areas relating to Infrastructure, resource management and the Built Environment with a focus on renewable and zero carbon energy solutions. The overarching aim of his research is to develop practical decarbonised solutions which can be delivered rapidly to enable effective mitigation of climate change. He has been highly successful in his field winning national and International multi-million-pound grants in a range of projects including FP7, Horizon 2020, ERDF and InnovateUk. He is keen to develop collaborative opportunity with both internal and external academic colleagues and external agencies. This can be achieved through joint PhD Supervision, interdisciplinary funding application and exploitation of his links to the Business Community. This will enable swift and effective responses to current and future industry and societal challenges, improve collaboration between academic research and the business community, making sure that research outcome can be exploited for the benefit of Society.
Professor Newport is developing a number of living laboratory demonstrator solutions to enable research that will provide quantitative analytical models and tools in real-time to help governments, industry and the public make more informed decisions with respect to environmental sustainability. One example is the work he is doing with the University of Suffolk EcoHouse Demonstrator a collaborative, research facility that aims to demonstrate the regional capacity for the design, build and occupation of sustainable homes. The project will address two of the most pressing concerns that we face: climate change and the impact the construction industry has on quality low carbon affordable homes. The Facility will be used as a ‘living laboratory’ and demonstrator by the Institute and a range of third-party innovation partners. Adaptability is an important feature of the design, with space likely to be used by multiple researchers/ departments testing a variety of infrastructure, materials, methods and equipment.
The Suffolk Sustainability Institute will contribute to, and lead on, quality research, training, and innovation towards effective action on climate change, unsustainable use of resources and the environment.