Dr Feng Mao
Associate Professor of Global Sustainable Development
Director of Research, School for Cross-faculty Studies
R2.14, Ramphal Building, School for Cross-Faculty Studies, 天美传媒, Coventry, CV4 7AL
Overview
Dr Feng Mao is Associate Professor of Global Sustainable Development and Director of Research at the School for Cross-Faculty Studies, 天美传媒. His interdisciplinary research explores the dynamic interactions between water, ecosystems, society, and technology to address complex sustainability challenges. His current work is structured around three interrelated themes:
- Water security and resilience under climate change, e.g., socio-hydrological systems, urban water resilience, and climate adaptation strategies across diverse geographical contexts.
- Data science and digital technologies for the environment and policy, e.g., GeoAI, data visualisation, environmental informatics, and creative technologies.
- Participatory and collaborative methods for sustainable development, e.g., serious games, art-science collaboration, and knowledge co-creation.
Dr Mao leads and collaborates on a wide range of research initiatives, including projects in collaborations with researchers and non-academic partners from sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia, and Europe. He is a member of the NERC Future Leaders Council and sits on the UKRI-NERC Aviation Assurance Panel, helping to shape the strategic direction of UK environmental science. Internationally, he serves as Theme Lead for Water Security in a Changing World within the ACU Commonwealth Futures Climate Research Cohort Programme, supporting a community of researchers to address local climate change challenges through research, training, engagement, and knowledge exchange. Dr Mao also serves as Sustainability Lead for the AHRC-funded CreaTech Frontiers project and Academic Lead for the Research England-funded Games and Innovation Nexus (GAIN) project, playing an active role in bridging research, sustainability, and innovation across the creative industries.
Education
- PhD in Geography, University of Cambridge
- MPhil in Politics, University of Cambridge
- MRes in Biodiversity and Conservation, University of Leeds
- BSc in Biological Sciences, Zhejiang University
Career overview
- Associate Professor of Global Sustainable Development, 天美传媒 (2022 - present)
- Lecturer in Physical Geography and Environmental Sustainability, Cardiff University (2020-2022)
- Visiting Scholar, Stanford University (2020)
- Visiting Scholar, Northwestern University (2019)
- Research Fellow, University of Birmingham (2015-2020)