معرفی
Matthew Cotton is Professor of Environmental Justice and Public Policy at Teesside University, serving as Programme Director for Sustainable and Resilient Places within the Institute for Collective Place Leadership. Previously, he held academic positions at the Universities of York, Sheffield, Leeds, Exeter, and Manchester, focusing on socio-political dimensions of sustainable development across 15+ countries including the UK, Bangladesh, Mozambique, and Iran.
His educational background includes:
- PhD in Environmental Science (University of East Anglia, awarded 2009)
- MSc in Social Research Methods (Teesside University, awarded 2004)
- BA (Hons) International Studies with Political Science (University of Birmingham, awarded 2003)
Cotton's research centers on environmental justice frameworks applied to energy transitions, climate adaptation, and food security. He employs mixed methods including Q-methodology, participatory workshops, and critical policy analysis to examine stakeholder engagement in nuclear waste management, shale gas governance, and hydrogen economies. His work emphasizes ethical dimensions of technology assessment and place-based just transitions.
Recent publications (2024-2025) reveal three dominant trends: (1) sociotechnical analysis of hydrogen economies in post-industrial communities, (2) climate adaptation strategies in vulnerable regions (Bangladesh/Mozambique) focusing on non-migration and place attachment, and (3) policy coherence for gas flaring reduction and nuclear waste governance. Methodologically, Q-methodology features prominently in stakeholder perspective analysis across energy and environmental domains.
Professor Cotton supervises four active PhD students at Teesside University and has guided eight completions at prior institutions. His current research portfolio includes:
- National Institute of Health Research grants on climate adaptation (2023-2025) and food insecurity (2023-2024)
- Research England Development Fund project Growing Teesside's Hydrogen Economy (2022-2027)
- ESRC-funded solar energy project in East Africa (2020-2023)
- Nuclear Waste Services fellowship on intergenerational justice (2022-2024)
He collaborates with the Institute for Collective Place Leadership and external partners including Nuclear Waste Services, X-Energy, Stockton Borough Council, and Tees Valley Combined Authority on community-centered sustainability initiatives.
