DrEmma Campbell

Dr. Campbell's research portfolio includes several major, transdisciplinary projects focused on resource circularity, resilience and nature-based solutions for food-water-energy systems.

Current Research Project

ERC Advanced Grant 'ACME: The Architecture of Coal in Modern Europe' (2025–2030): Led by Professor Gary A Boyd, this major European Research Council project (€2.5m) seeks to define and explore the 'coalscape'—a pervasive network of ecologies, beliefs, and practices rooted in coalmining. ACME proposes that understanding this coalscape is vital for reconsidering the critical relationships between extractive energy sources, cultural life, and the built environment that shaped modern Europe and contributed to the Anthropocene. Dr. Campbell is leading a work package on the coalscape's influence on planetary and human health.

Previous Projects

Co-Investigator 

UKRI Network+ 'RISC+' (£6.25m, 2024–2028): Dr. Campbell was a Co-Investigator focused on visualising complex supply chains and identifying reorientation opportunities to model resilient UK supply chains for food, fashion and critical raw materials. Following her move to UCD, she remains part of the network consortium.

AHRC Green Transition Ecosystem - 'Future Island-Island' (£4m, 2024–2025): This project focused on translating design-led research to enable a circular mindset in Northern Ireland. As Named Researcher and Work Package Co-Lead she was involved in co-designing food, energy, water and material circularity concepts on Rathlin Island.

Post-Doctoral Researcher

EU Horizon 2020 - 'UPSURGE' (2022–2025): In her role as Demonstration Assessment Manager, she facilitated the co-design and implementation of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in five European cities. This included leading co-design workshops with over 90 stakeholders in Belfast, work that was recognised with a Citizenship and Outreach award.

QUB Agility fund - 'Resilient Shrimp' (2023–2024): As Lead Research Fellow, she focused on challenges and pathways to resilient aquaculture, using shrimp production as a case study. The project successfully developed international partnerships across academia, industry and government in multiple countries (including Thailand, Singapore, Australia UK).

Innovate UK-funded - 'Ideal Home' (2021–2022): As Lead Research Fellow, she applied a research-by-design methodology to evaluate and recommend best practices in poultry house infrastructure. The goal was to improve animal welfare, increase productivity, and help the sector meet net-zero emissions targets.

Doctoral Researcher

DfE funded PhD - 'Repacking the Supermarket: Food-Retail Evolution and Futures' (2017–2021): This research explored the emergence and potential futures of supermarket shopping and food retail. The outcomes formed the basis of Emma’s TEDx talk, "Can bees help us to design sustainable supermarkets?" (2021)  alongside multiple publications.