Research

Birkbeck has a long and rich history of interdisciplinary environmental research, and our researchers are committed to shaping a more sustainable future for us all. We collaborate with many external institutions and welcome new partners to work with us to address these global challenges. Birkbeck’s Research Centre for Environment and Sustainability provides an important focus and networking point for researchers interested in this theme.

If you'd like to reach out and explore a potential research partnership, please contact Birkbeck's Innovation Unit.

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research centres and institutes

Birkbeck Centre for Environment and Sustainability

Taking an interdisciplinary approach to tackling the entwined challenges of environmental and climate breakdown, and the need to transition to a more sustainable way of life.

Birkbeck Centre for Planetary Sciences

The Centre for Planetary Sciences (CPS) at UCL/Birkbeck is one of the UK's leading centres for planetary and exoplanetary science. It houses expertise in understanding planets from their deep interiors, through their surfaces and atmospheres, to their space environment.

London Geochemistry and Isotope Centre

The London Geochemistry and Isotope Centre (LOGIC) combines research teams and facilities in geochemistry at UCL and Birkbeck. We carry out investigations of natural materials using a variety of approaches.

Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology

We seek to provide a scientific environment conducive to world-class research in the field of protein science. The Institute coordinates UCL’s and Birkbeck’s strategy in our fields of scientific enquiry.

EXPLORE OUR REF 2021 IMPACT CASE STUDIES IN THIS AREA

The significance of the impact which derives from Birkbeck's research was reconfirmed in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, with 85% of our impact case studies rated in the world leading or internationally excellent categories.

Enhancing conservation methods and damage assessment to protect organic-based heritage objects

This study looks at conservation best practice and the development of tools to evaluate air corrosivity and methods to detect early signs of damage on organic-based heritage objects.

Enhancing vehicle deployment strategies at the London ambulance service

Birkbeck researchers worked with the London Ambulance Service (LAS) to create software to predict ambulance response times with 80% greater accuracy.

Demographic structure and economic trends: planning for Europe's financial future

This study offers new insight into the implications of an ageing population for OECD economies, in particular the relationship between aging, innovation and economic slowdown.

Global standards for smart city infrastructure

Research into federated entity identification systems led to the development of Recommendation ITU-T Y.4805, a worldwide standard for global information infrastructure.

Virtual knowledge graphs in industry and the public sector

Virtual Knowledge Graphs facilitate information extraction without relying on IT specialists, opening up data repositories to data analytics.

Transforming shoreline management policy and practice

The Environment Agency has used Professor Brooks' digitised cliff analysis methodology to effectively manage shoreline retreat.