Dr Steve Smith

About me:

I am a Research Fellow at the Global Systems Institute (GSI) and Green Futures Solutions (GFS) at the University of Exeter. a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), University of Surrey, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts (FRSA). I co-lead research on positive social tipping points (accelerating sustainability transitions) at GSI/GFS. I'm also working on a project to create a Resilience Sensing System to help decision-makers understand, mitigate and govern systemic risks in the polycrisis, including cascading tipping points, and how to build cultiural resilience to these risks.  I am a lead author of the Global Tipping Points Reports 2023 and 2025, and help organise the Global Tipping Points Conferences. I sit on the Advisory Board of the European Commission's Working Group on System Dynamics for System Innovation, and served as an expert reviewer to the UN IPCC’s Working Group III Sixth Assessment Report (AR6-WGIII). I have authored a number of peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, policy-papers, popular articles and blogs and regularly give talks at public, corporate and academic conferences and other events.

Broad research specialisms:

Positive social tipping points, accelerating sustainability transitions, systems dynamics, global tipping point risks, momitoring and governance.

Qualifications:

Ph.D. Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey. Thesis: towards an understanding of advocacy coalitions for rapid transition to net zero carbon in the United Kingdom. https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/esploro/outputs/doctoral/99705866502346

M.Sc. Environmental Technology, Imperial College, London.

B.Sc. (Hons) Geography, University of London

B.Sc. (Hons) Psychology, The Open University.