Professor Aoife Foley is Chair in Net Zero Infrastructure at The University of Manchester and leads the AVANTERN Group. A globally recognised expert in sustainable energy systems and infrastructure planning, she brings nearly 30 years of experience across industry and academia. Ranked among the top 2% of scientists globally (h-index 55, 14,000+ citations), she has secured over £25 million in research funding. From steered Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from 2014 to 2023, serving as Editor-in-Chief for the last five years, guiding its impact factor from 5.9 to 16.3. She publishes in top quartile journals, including Nature, Nature Energy, and npj Urban Sustainability, and frequently features in media including BBC, RTÉ, Le Figaro, TV5 and The Times. She holds a BEng in Civil Engineering, an MSc in Transport and Environmental Engineering, and a PhD in Energy Engineering. A former MIT adjunct, she advises governments and industry on energy transitions, climate resilience, and policy.
She has chaired or evaluated proposals for the EU, UKRI, Swiss National Science Foundation, Academy of Finland, and others. Professor Foley has won the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) to recognize outstanding work in civil engineering, particularly focusing on innovation and real-world impact, as well as the Jose Maria Sarriegi Major Catastrophe Research Award from the Queen of Spain in 2019. More recently in 2022 was awarded the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) award. Finally, she is widely recognised as a leading expert in sustainability and climate-aligned technology in energy systems, with research spanning hydrogen, energy storage, digital twins, energy justice, and equitable net-zero transitions.
