Dr Judith Thornton

PhD

Dr Judith Thornton

Low Carbon Manager (Beacon)

IBERS

Contact Details

Profile

Judith is a Low Carbon Manager in the BEACON project. Her main interest is in low carbon building materials. 

Before coming to Aberystwyth, Judith was a postdoc in Leeds where she researched water footprinting and water efficiency. Other previous positions include in the Welsh School of Architecture (Cardiff), Civil Engineering (Padua, Italy), and the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT, Machynlleth). Judith has undertaken water and sewage consultancy for a number of years, including policy research projects for the Environment Agency, Energy Savings Trust, DCLG and a range of private sector clients. This included writing national water efficiency standards for the AECB, a book on private water supplies, a smattering of journal papers and LCA studies, and desigining/installing water and sewage treatment systems.

Her personal blog is here.

Teaching

Lecturer

In addition to teaching in Abersytwyth, Judith is a regular guest lecturer at the Centre for Alternative Technology and Cardiff University.

Research

Judith works with companies in Wales and beyond on innovations in plant-based building materials. Her aim is to improve the dialogue between the end user (the building industry) and the designer (the plant scientist and breeder), in order that future plant-based building materials are fit for purpose. At present, this includes work on strawbale building, bioaggregate wall insulation, and breathable plasters containing plant material.

Publications

Clifton-Brown, J, Hastings, A, Mos, M, McCalmont, J, Ashman, C, Awty-Carroll, D, Cerazy, J, Chiang, Y-C, Cosentino, S, Cracroft-Eley, W, Scurlock, J, Donnison, I, Glover, C, Golab, I, Greef, J, Gwyn, J, Harding, G, Hayes, C, Helios, W, Hsu, TW, Huang, L, Jezownski, S, Kim, D-S, Kiesel, A, Kotecki, A, Krzyzak, J, Lewandowski, I, Lim, SH, Liu, J, Loosely, M, Meyer, H, Murphy-Bokern, D, Nelson, W, Pogrzeba, M, Robinson, G, Robson, P, Rogers, C, Scalici, G, Schuele, H, Shafiei, R, Shevchuk, O, Schwarz, K-U, Squance, M, Swaller, T, Thornton, J, Truckses, T, Botnari, V, Vizir, I, Wagner, M, Warren, R, Webster, R, Yamada, T, Youell, S, Xi, Q, Zong, J & Flavell, R 2017, 'Progress in upscaling Miscanthus biomass production for the European bio-economy with seed-based hybrids', GCB Bioenergy, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 6-17. 10.1111/gcbb.12357
Wootton-Beard, P, Xing, Y, Durai Prabhakaran, RT, Robson, P, Bosch, M, Thornton, J, Ormondroyd, G, Jones, P & Donnison, I 2016, 'Review: Improving the impact of plant science on urban planning and design', Buildings, vol. 6, no. 4. 10.3390/buildings6040048
Thornton, J & Hassell, C 2014, Rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing in UK schools: opportunities for combining with water efficiency education. in Alternative Water Supply Systems. IWA Publishing.
Foxon, TJ, Pearson, PJG, Arapostathis, S, Carlsson-Hyslop, A & Thornton, J 2013, 'Branching points for transition pathways: Assessing responses of actors to challenges on pathways to a low carbon future', Energy Policy, vol. 52, pp. 146-158. 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.04.030
Thornton, J & Pearson, P 2013, 'Bristol Water Works Company; a study of nineteenth century resistance to local authority purchase attempts', Water History, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 307-330. 10.1007/s12685-013-0083-1
More publications on the Research Portal