Dr. Geraint Ellis is a Professor in the School of Natural and Built Environment and Director of Sustainable Built Environment at Queen's University, Belfast. He also holds the position of Adjunct Professor, Department of Geography, Western University, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragment of the Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce (FRSA), the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and has been appointed to the Assessment Panel for Unit of Assessment 13 for REF2021. In 2018 he was also appointed by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland) to the  National Economic and Social Council (NESC).

His key research interests are in planning and sustainability, renewable energy, planning governance and healthy urban planning. He has published widely on these topics and is a Co-Editor of the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning (http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjoe20/current, Twitter: @JrlEPP) and a founding member of the Editorial Board of the new Routledge, journal, Cities and Health.

He joined Queen's in 1998, having previously worked for community and environmental organisations in the east end of London (1990-1993), acted as a planning and community development advisor to he Government of Lesotho in Southern Africa (1993-1996) and the Cross River Partnership in central London (1996-1998).

Geraint is active in the Northern Ireland voluntary sector, is currently a Board Director of Belfast Healthy Cities and a founder member of Transition Town Whitehead . He was previously a director of Transport 2000 (NI), Sustainable NI, Community Techncial Aid (now Community Places). He has also provided planning advice to the Traveller Movement (NI) and Friends of the Earth (NI). He also acts as the Irish contact for the International Network of Urban Research and Action ( INURA ), has been an advisor to the Centre for Education in the Built Environment ( CEBE) and a member of the UK's Sustainable Development Panel. He also acts as the National Expert for Ireland on the International Energy Agency's Task 28 Working Group on the Social Acceptance of Wind Energy.

He has been the Course Director for boththe BSc Environmental Planning and the M.Plan in European Planning and previously coordinated the School's Erasmus Programme and other internationalisation initiatives, including an exchange programme with Indian Planning Schools.

You can follow Geraint on Twitter @gellis23

Geraint's research interests lie in the broad field of spatial planning and sustainability, with a particular emphasis on environmental governance, renewable energy, marine spatial planning, environmental justice and equality issues in planning. He has also written and research on pedagogy in planning and environmental education. He has been involved in a range of research projects funded by UK research councils and others, with his most recent projects focussing on renewable energy and the walkability of built environments. 

Geraint is currently the module coordinator for the following:

Planning and Cliamte Change (EVP2009)

City Futures (EVP7040)

He has coordinated a range of other modules and regularly contributes to other modules, including Legal Studies in Planning (EVP3010), Independent Research Project (EVP3011), and Planning Skills and Ethics (EVP8012).

He supervises around 10 undergraduate and Masters students every year on their dissertations and currently has six Ph.D students as supervisees.