School of Social and Political Science

Dr Mark Cassidy

Job Title

Research Fellow (TransFIRe)

Mark Cassidy's default profile image

Room number

2.81

Building (Address)

Old Surgeons Hall

Street (Address)

High School Yards

City (Address)

Edinburgh

Post code (Address)

EH1 1LZ

Research interests

Research interests

My current research involves study of the socio-technical relationships around industrial decarbonisation. In particular I am interested in how communities and industries engage with one another around issues of decarbonisation and how these relations create both opportunities and barriers towards better use of energy resources. With my colleagues Prof Steve Yearley and Dr Kyle Parker, we are part of a wider UK wide research project called TransFIRe (Transforming the Foundation Industries Research and Innovation Hub), which is looking into ways to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes, as well as finding new ways of taking advantage of industrial activity for the benefit of the communities in which they are based.

Background

I originally come from a materials processing background with 25 years research and development experience in the design and manufacture of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), a highly efficient electrochemical energy conversion device. During this time I worked in across a range of industrial and academic environments. In 2017 I took a decision to move beyond the technical and widen my engagement with broader issues around energy transitions and undertook an MSc in Energy Society and Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2018. This introduced me to concepts and ideas around STS, emphasising the importance of social and cultural relationships with technology, especially around complex issues such as energy transitions. The investigation of how these relations both shaped and were shaped by policy, technology and society continue to underpin my current research activities. In addition to my research activities on the TransFIRe project, I am also in the process of writing up wider energy focused research which is developing a historical account of SOFC development focussing on how shifting narratives were constructed over time to maintain the legitimacy and relevance of this promissory energy technology against changing energy, policy and social contexts.