Dr Erik Mackie is Head of Research Engagement at Cambridge Zero, the University of Cambridge’s flagship climate change initiative. He works with researchers from across Cambridge to coordinate and deliver interdisciplinary climate-related research proposals, activities and events. He has a background in climate science, with research interests in climate change, physical oceanography, sea-level rise and climate risk. He received his BSc in Applied Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh and completed his PhD in Physical Geography joint between the University of Bristol and the British Antarctic Survey, studying the circulation of the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
After completing his PhD, he continued at the British Antarctic Survey on a postdoctoral position in the Polar Oceans Team, through a NERC National Productivity Investment Fund Innovation Placement. He joined Cambridge Zero when it launched in 2019, first as Public Engagement Coordinator, where he was instrumental in developing Cambridge Zero’s initial website and communications surrounding the launch. He then became Research Engagement Manager, and subsequently Head of Research Engagement with responsibility for all of Cambridge Zero’s research engagement and support activities. He now leads a small team of research engagement professionals, working to enhance the University of Cambridge’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis by maximizing the collective ambition and impact of climate-related research at Cambridge.
