Dr Tracey Crosbie is a Reader in Sustainability in the Built Environment in the School of Computing Engineering and Digital Technologies  at Teesside University. She is a transdisciplinary academic with degrees in the social and technical sciences. Dr Crosbie has been researching issues associated with sustainability for over 20 years. She has a great deal of experience in leading the development of successful collaborative research proposals and managing work in national and international interdisciplinary research and innovation projects.

 Dr Crosbie is an expert reviewer for the European Commission having most recently taken part in the review of the  proposals submitted in response to the FET-Open – Novel Ideas For Radically New Technologies. Dr Crosbie is the REACT representative for the Consumer Engagement working group in the Bridge project, a cooperation of all accepted LCE 6-10 projects funded under Horizon 2020 (see http://horizon2020-story.eu/bridge/). Dr Crosbie was an expert participant in two Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) workshops, she  is a member of the Schools Research Ethics committee and she led the Sustainable Environments Grand Challenge research theme at the university (2017-2019).

One of Dr Crosbie’s main roles is to facilitate multidisciplinary research across the university’s different schools. As befits her transdisciplinary research approach Dr Crosbie has over 40 academic journal publications in a diverse range of disciplines.  Dr Crosbie’s PhD was awarded by the University of Newcastle, School of Architecture Planning and Landscape (2004), her other qualifications include an MSc in IT awarded by Teesside University, a Postgraduate Certificate (PGc) in Social Welfare and Social Work awarded by the University of Northumbria and a BA (Hons) in Sociology and Social Policy awarded by the University of Durham.

Dr Crosbie’s current research interests focus on the development of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research methodologies, sustainability policy and its implementation, urban development and smart cities and smart energy infrastructures.

Currently Dr Crosbie is the Principal Investigator (PI) of a research project funded under the British Academy’s 2019 GCRF Urban Infrastructures of Well-Being programme. The project is entitled “What is in a meter? Working towards efficient, socially inclusive and environmentally sensitive energy and water infrastructures in the Global South.”  She also leads the work in the REACT Horizon 2020 funded research and innovation project (2019-2022) at Teesside University. Within the project she leads a work package called “User context and socio-economic analysis.” This work seeks to understand how we can engage users in smart grids and demand response and identify the local socio economic impacts of local smart energy networks on small geographical islands.  

In the inteGRIDy Horizon 2020 project (2017-2020), she led a work package entitled “Standardization Analysis, Regulations and Privacy Policy,” that was successfully delivered to the commission in the first 12 months of the project. In the DR-BOB Horizon 2020 project (2017-2019), she led the work package related to dissemination as well as contributing to the approach taken in the evaluation of the projects pilots and the work on business modelling and the impact of current regulations and policy approaches on the potential for demand response.

Dr Crosbie managed the IDEAS FP7 funded EC project (2012-2015). She also led the design and implementation of the evaluation strategy for a Big Lottery funded community based project called One Planet Middlesbrough: Communities living sustainably which was delivered in 2017. In the SEMANCO project (2011- 2015), she led a work package entitled “Enabling scenarios for stakeholders”. In the IntUBE.(2008-2011) she was the lead researcher on the project team at Teesside University.

PhD supervision

Currently Dr Crosbie is involved in the supervision of four PhD students:

• Sean Williams, Control Optimisation for Demand Response Systems
• Kennedy Amadasun, Investigating the feasibility of integrating minimal mast structure in Telecommunications industry in Nigeria
• Alima Ogah, Climate Change in Nigeria: Assessing Policy and Practice
• Ahmed Maher Fakhri Gailani, Technologies regulatory frameworks and business models for the near future deployment of energy storage systems in electricity networks.

Recent PhD completions in which Dr Crosbie was involved include

• Maher Abuhussain (2020) Developing a Framework for Knowledge Transfer Partnership in Technology-Intensive Infrastructure Projects in Saudi Arabia:
• Eid Mohammed Algarni (2016) Informing the development of Land use policies that support sustainable Planning
• Amit Mhalas (2014) Assessment and Decision Support for Energy Performance Improvement of Dwellings: Framework and Prototype Development