I am a DECRA and Scientia Senior Research Fellow in Human Geography within the Environment and Society Group at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, where I convene the Environmental Humanities and Geographical Studies majors.
I am also currently a visiting research fellow at the Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), University of Ghana (September to December, 2020).
I have an established research record in the fields of political ecology and environmental history, and have written extensively on forest governance and energy justice, with a particular geographical focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.
My current research is focused on the changing geographies of energy poverty. How the emergence of new technologies (e.g., small-scale photovoltaic power), new trade dynamics and financial platforms (e.g., mobile money) have reshaped how people realise their energy needs in poor rural settings. I am currently engaged in research in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana and Vanuatu.
I have also written extensively on forest governance in Sierra Leone, drawing from large-scale research projects that have been funded by the European Union, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and USAID. Drawing on this research, in 2020 I authored the monograph: Colonial Seeds in Africa Soil: a critical history of forest conservation in Sierra Leone.