Professor Sarah Bridle joins the Department of Environment and Geography

Posted on 17 October 2021

We’re delighted to welcome Sarah Bridle, Professor of Food, Climate and Society to our Department of Environment and Geography.

Sarah Bridle, Professor of Food, Climate and Society.

Having graduated from the University of Cambridge with a first class Masters degree in Natural Sciences in 1997, Professor Bridle began a research career in the field of dark matter and was awarded a PhD on ‘Bayesian Methods in Cosmology’ in 2000.

Researching

Since 2015 she has been researching environmental matters, with a particular focus on how our food choices are affecting the environment.

Professor Bridle joined the University of Manchester in 2013 and found collaborators on food through the N8 AgriFood partnership, led by the University of York. In 2017 Sarah founded the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Food Network+, bringing together food research and industry with STFC capabilities from astro, particle and nuclear physics and the UK’s largest science facilities.

Founding lead

She is founding lead of the Take a Bite out of Climate Change project which brings together data from food choices and greenhouse gas emissions to inform the public and policymakers, and leads on metrics for the interdisciplinary FixOurFood project which aims to transform the Yorkshire food system. This project is led by Professor Bob Doherty in the School for Business and Society.

Professor Bridle’s book Food and Climate Change - Without the Hot Air was published in 2020 by UIT Cambridge and is available as a free e-book.

Impacts

At York, she will be based in the Department for Environment and Geography, expanding into impacts of climate on the food system, and taking the Metrics FixOurFood work global. She will also expand more into policy, on a Food and Land Use Secondment at Defra, thanks to connections through the N8 AgriFood Policy Hub.

“I’m thrilled to be moving to be co-located with colleagues I’ve enjoyed working with over a few years now, and to be meeting many new colleagues in my new department. I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive vibe and supportive atmosphere of the department and look forward to many fascinating conversations and new collaborations,” said Professor Bridle.