Professor Andy Challinor

Profile

I am a Professor of Climate Impacts at the University of Leeds. I began my research career with a PhD at the University of Leeds on boundary layer flow through forests. I then spent some years at Reading, conducting postdoctoral research on the impacts of climate variability and change on food crops. I returned to Leeds in 2007 to take up a Lectureship and initiate and lead the The Climate Impacts group. I led the NERC consortium End-to-end quantification of uncertainty for impacts prediction (EQUIP) and leads Flagship work on Climate Smart Agriculture for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). I was Lead Author on the ‘Food Production Systems and Food Security’ chapter of the Fifth Assessment report of the IPCC and Lead Author for the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017.

Project details:

New PhD projects are advertised at the doctoral training centre.

Funding:

• Co-I AMMA2050, a DFID-NERC Future Climates For Africa project 2015-2019
• CGIAR programme ‘Climate change, agriculture and food security’ (CCAFS) Project Leader, total value to Leeds $420 per annum
• UK Technology and Strategy Board Developing project 2014-2015: “Breeding strategies for a variable climate” with Limagrain and Environmental Systems
• FP7 SPECS (Seasonal-to-decadal climate Prediction for the improvement of European Climate Services), 2012-2016, £215k, Co-I
• FP7 EUPORIAS (European Provision Of Regional Impact Assessment on a Seasonal-to-decadal timescale), 2012-2016, £1.1M, Co-I
• BBSRC-funded contribution to FACCE MACSUR Knowledge Hub on Crop Modelling 2012-2015, £80k, Co-I
• BBSRC project “Effects of environmental change: increased nematode pest status on UK crops,” 2012-2016, £880k, Co-I
• BBSRC project “Sustainable pollination services for UK crops” 2011-2013, Co-I, £674k for Leeds component
• ESPA Partnership and Project Development grant 2010 “Enhancing water for food: poverty reduction through improved management of ecosystem services for sustainable food production in sub-Saharan Africa,” Co-I
• Private donor grant of £250k for a Fellowship in Sustainable Agriculture for Global Food Security 2010-2013, awarded following a proposal by a team of three academics
• China-UK Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network (SAIN) project “Addressing vulnerabilities and building capacity for adaptation of agriculture to climate change in China” 2010-2013, PI for Leeds component, £49k
• NERC consortium grant PI 2009-2012: End-to-end quantification of uncertainty for impacts prediction (EQUIP). Total value £1.4M
• CGIAR/ESSP programme ‘Climate change, agriculture and food security’ (CCAFS) Theme Leader, total value to Leeds £434k for the first three-year component
• University of Leeds Africa College Co-I, £1.4M over six years
• ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy 2008-13 Co-Investigator. Total value £5.5M

Responsibilities

• Professor of Climate Impacts

Research interests

My work focuses principally on using climate modelling and process studies to understand food production and food security; treatments of uncertainty and managing risk; and climate-resilient pathways and adaptation. I aim to contribute significantly to the knowledge and policy base for sustainably strengthening the food security and health, especially amongst those societies that are vulnerable to climate variability and change. I do this by working with experts in a range of disciplines, from epidemiologists and ecologists to social scientists and economists.

I am also developing an international crop modelling community, through maintenance of a website for access to the crop simulation model GLAM, which he jointly developed. The site currently has 291 registered users and we regularly receive requests for new accounts.

Co-Investigator Research Project

GENADAPT: Genotypic & Environmental Adaptation through Data Driven Prediction Techniques

• Building Systemic Resilience against Climate Variability and Extremes (ClimBeR)
• Increasing UK Dietary Fibre - The Case for the Great White British Loaf
• iSPARK: innovation in sustainability, policy, adaptation and resilience in Kenya

Qualifications

• PhD, Meteorology & Forest Micro-Climate, University of Leeds
• BSc, Physics (European), University of Leeds

Professional memberships

• Priestley International Centre for Climate, Management Group
• UK Global Food Security (GFS) Advisory Group
• Associate member of the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy
• Leader and founding member of the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Leeds
• Member of the Editorial Boards of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology and World Agriculture

Research groups and institutes

• Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science

Current postgraduate researchers

• Beiyao Xu
• Joe Gallear
• Samuel Bancroft
• Lisma Safitri