Alan Smith

Dr Alan Smith is a Lecturer in Environmental Management at the University of Plymouth, affiliated with the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. He holds leadership roles including Chair of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) South West Region and Principal Investigator of the ESRC-funded project 'WatPop: understanding seasonal population change'. His research focuses on geospatial data analysis, population dynamics, and natural hazard risk assessment, particularly leveraging GIS and big data for flood risk mitigation.

Education:

• PhD Geography, University of Southampton (2011-2014)
• MRes Science of Natural Hazards, University of Bristol (2010/11)
• BSc (Hons) Geography, University of Wales, Aberystwyth (2007-2010)
• PGCAP in Academic Practice, University of Southampton (2016)

Research Interests:

• Quantitative human geography
• GIS and spatiotemporal population modelling
• Population vulnerability and flood exposure
• Big data applications in environmental management

Grants:

• £300,000 ESRC SDAI project (2019)
• World University Network Research Mobility Partnership grant (2016)

Advising: Supervised Dr Kate Rawlings (PhD, 2020) and current student Kezz Millard (PhD, 2023–present). Teaching includes modules on GIS, big data analytics, and fieldwork in Western Australia.

Labs/Teams: Developed the SurfaceBuilder247 population modelling tool and leads the WatPop initiative to estimate seasonal populations using water meter data.