Researchers
We are from a range of disciplines including political economy, sociology, health economics and design.
Dr Elizabeth Humphrys
Too Hot To Work Coordinator
Elizabeth Humphrys is a political economist at the University of Technology Sydney, and a member of the Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre (C-SERC). She is interested in the impact of economic crisis and climate change on workers, and how workplaces can be made safer and more equitable. More broadly, Elizabeth’s research focusses on questions of control over the labour process. Elizabeth’s book How Labour Built Neoliberalism was released with Brill in 2019 (Paperback: Haymarket), and she is an Associate at The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work.
Professor James Goodman
James Goodman conducts research into global politics, socio-cultural change and climate justice. He is a Professor in Social and Political Sciences at UTS, where he has been based since 1996. He is a member of the Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre (C-SERC). James draws from a disciplinary background in political sociology, international relations, political economy and political geography, and has led several large collaborative research projects. He has published numerous authored or co-authored books, and articles in leading international journals.
Joseph Alhassan
Joseph Alhassan joined the University of Technology Sydney as a PhD Candidate in July 2024. With a background in geography and rural development, his doctoral research investigates the experiences of smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana in relation to climate change and high heat. Grounded in the concepts of climate precarity and vulnerability, the project examines impacts of heat stress and the risk to farmers’ well-being, as well as exploring their adaptive strategies. This project will provide insights into the broader socio-economic insecurities exacerbated by climate change in the region.
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Past collaborators
Natasha Heenan
Natasha Heenan is an environmental social scientist with expertise in global environmental politics, climate and industrial policy, and climate technology. Her doctoral research focuses on the political economy of emerging climate technologies in Australia. Natasha has worked as a research assistant on several Too Hot to Work projects.
Freya Newman
Freya Newman was a research assistant in the Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre (C-SERC) from 2018 to 2022. In 2018 she completed her honours thesis at UTS on heat stress in the NSW construction industry, for which she was awarded first class honours and the University Medal. Freya is an experienced researcher and policy officer, and has worked in the public and NGO sectors on work health and safety, housing, foreign aid, and corporate responsibility projects.
Dr Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas is a critical applied economist focusing on issues of equity, social justice and access in health. Mark’s research utilises a mix of quantitative and critical qualitative methods, including ethnographic methods, survey design, data analytics and applied econometrics. Mark is a life-long activist, specialising in environmental justice, women’s rights and empowerment, disability rights and grassroots community organising in the Middle East. Mark joined the University of Technology Sydney as a Research Fellow with the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE) in 2020.
On the Heat in the Streets project, we worked with:
Associate Professor Dr Nimish Biloria
Nimish Biloria is an Associate Professor at the UTS School of Architecture. Nimish is an expert in the areas of Smart Environments and Spatial Robotics, with extensive research and design experience across Europe and Asia.
Associate Professor Leena Thomas
Leena Thomas is an internationally recognised sustainable architecture academic at the UTS School of Architecture. Her research focuses on transforming development and design practices in response to global concerns for climate change, zero carbon development, thermal comfort, health and well-being in living and work environments.
Pejman Pakdel
Pejman is a professional front end developer. He has years of experience across different aspects of Web programming, and extensive experience working in design, and developing websites with JavaScript, React and Node.js. Since 2018, he has been working as a research assistant and developer at the University of Technology, Sydney.