Dr Encarni Medina-Lopez

As a Senior Lecturer in Ocean Observation, I bridge the gap between space-borne technology and coastal resilience. My work leverages multi- and hyperspectral satellite imagery, in-situ data, and machine learning to decode the complex processes shaping our coastal environments. Beyond observation, I am dedicated to the Data for Good movement—applying satellite insights to drive down the costs of marine renewable energy and address the urgent intersection of climate change and social equity.

Research and impact

Pioneering coastal intelligence research

I lead the Coastal and Environmental Remote Sensing Group (CEReS) at the School of Engineering. Our mission is to redefine the role of engineering in a changing world by leveraging high-resolution remote sensing as a vehicle for equity. By bridging the gap between space-borne data and ground-level resilience, we advance the state-of-the-art in coastal oceanography and marine renewables. We operate on the principle that engineering is not neutral; we use satellite-derived intelligence to drive climate justice and ensure a just transition for the communities most affected by climate change.

Transforming engineering with climate justice

I am the Principal Investigator and Director of the Failure Modes of Engineering (FeME) Network Plus, a £2.2 million EPSRC-funded initiative (2025-2028). This project represents a shift in engineering paradigms, focusing on solutions for climate change and biodiversity loss through the lens of climate justice. We specifically investigate how engineering failures impact women, children, and underrepresented communities.

Get involved. We are actively seeking collaborators passionate about climate justice and engineering resilience: get in touch.

Strategic leadership

My current professional leadership roles focus on training the next generation of environmental scientists and engineers:

• SENSE CDT: Deputy Director for Training at the UK Space Agency and NERC Centre for Satellite Data in Environmental Science, SENSE.
• IDCORE CDT: Co-Investigator and Management Team member for the EPSRC and NERC Centre for Doctoral Training in Offshore Renewable Energy IDCORE.
• External academic leadership: External Examiner for BEng/MEng Civil Engineering and MEng Civil Engineering with Architectural Design degree programmes at the University of Southampton.

My journey

My career has evolved from foundational civil and environmental engineering toward pioneering ocean innovations that are data-driven and grounded in climate justice:

Foundations (2008-2014)

My story began in Spain at Universidad de Granada, where I earned an MEng in Civil & Environmental Engineering (Ingeniería Superior de Caminos, Canales y Puertos) (2008-2013) and an MSc in Environmental Hydraulics (2013-2014), specialising in aero-hydrodynamics and coastal structures.

Industrial research and PhD (2014-2017)

In 2014, I joined HR Wallingford (Oxford) as a Researcher, applying computational fluid dynamics to analyse storm impacts on breakwaters and wave energy converters. Supported by a prestigious Talentia Fellowship, I completed a joint PhD between the University of Edinburgh and Universidad de Granada (2015-2017). 

Academic growth and innovation (2017-2021) 

As a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Policy and Innovation Group, I led work packages for two European Horizon 2020 projects totalling €26 million, optimising marine energy farms through advanced numerical modeling (2017–2018). In 2018, I was awarded a Chancellor’s Fellowship in Data-Driven Innovation, focusing on the untapped potential of satellite applications for the blue economy. 

Expanding the vision (2022-present)

In 2022, I took a year of maternity leave to welcome my daughter to the world. I believe in the importance of visible career breaks and am an advocate for work-life balance in academia. I returned to my post in 2023 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer, where I continue to push the boundaries of how we observe and protect our oceans and coasts under a changing climate.

• PgCert (Postgraduate Certificate) in Academic Practice, PgCAP. University of Edinburgh, 2021 - 2022.
• PhD Energy Systems & Dynamics of Biogeochemical Flows. University of Edinburgh and University of Granada (Spain), 2015 - 2017.
• MSc Environmental Hydraulics. Universities of Granada, Malaga and Cordoba (Spain), 2013 - 2014.
• MEng Civil & Environmental Engineering (Ingenieria de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, 5 year degree). University of Granada (Spain), 2008 - 2013.

• CEng MICE, Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
• FHEA, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
• Commercial Drone Pilot: A2 Certificate of Competency (A2CofC), and General Visual Line of Sights Certificate (GVC).
• Turing Fellow, The Alan Turing Institute, former member.
• MASTS (Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland). Former member of the Marine Energy Forum Steering Group.
• IMarEST (Institute for Marine Engineering, Science & Technology). Former student member.

At undergraduate level:

• Coastal Engineering (Course Organiser), 10 SCQF credits.
• Interdisciplinary Group Design Project (Course Organiser and Potable Water Supply Lead), 20 SCQF credits.

Past courses I have taught:

• At undergraduate level: Programming Skills for Engineers 2, 10 SCQF credits (2020-2022)
• At postgraduate level: SENSE CDT, Python code carpentry and Google Earth Engine workshop (40 taught hours) (2020-2024).

CEReS: Coastal and Environmental Remote Sensing Group

CEReS is an interdisciplinary research group where we translate high-resolution environmental data into resilient engineering strategies that prioritise both technical excellence and social equity. By bridging the gap between space-borne observations and ground-level engineering, we work to secure the future of our coastal environments and the communities that depend on them. Our research is operationalised across four pillars:

• Marine Renewable Energy: Democratising the blue economy by reducing costs and technical barriers to clean energy.
• Satellite Oceanography: Using globally accesible, low-cost data for resource-constrained regions to monitor environmental shifts.
• Coastal Engineering: Understanding resilient infrastructure and coastlines that protect communities.
• Engineering and Climate Justice: Investigating how engineering failure modes disproportionately impact underrepresented groups and developing systemic solutions for recovery.

Current members

Professional services staff 

1. Johanna Holtan, FeME Project Manager (2025-present).
2. Pascale Watkins, FeME Administrative Support (2025-present), based at University of Glasgow.
3. Jordan McInally, FeME Events Organiser (2025-present), based at University of Glasgow.

Postdoctoral researchers

1. Dr Ashrika Sharma, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Human-Centred Engineering for Climate Resilience (2026-present).

PhD candidates

1. Anneke Sperling, PhD, SENSE CDT. Topic: Do ocean currents stick together? 2023 - present. Co-supervised with National Oceanography Centre (Dr Alejandra Sanchez-Franks).
2. Liam McAlister, EngD, IDCORE CDT. Topic: Offshore wind structures design sensitivity to metocean site conditions. 2024 - present. Co-supervised with University of Strathclyde, University of Exeter and SSE Renewables (Dr Alyona Naberezhnykh).
3. Nishant Gaur, PhD. Topic: Hydro-climatological extremes in the context of climate change. 2024-present. Co-supervised with Prof. Lindsay Beevers.
4. Jasmine Relf, PhD, E4 CDT. Topic: Towards a resilient coast. Developing a continuous coastal resilience indicator for monitoring and adaptation in a changing climate. 2025-present. Co-supervised with JBA Consulting (Dr Demetra Cristaudo).

Past members

Postdoctoral researchers 

1. Dr Simone Zen, Postdoctoral Research Associate. Topics:
   1. Assessment of the Omo river and delta using satellite data. 2019 - 2021.
   2. Supergen ORE Hub funded project Satellite Climate Observation for Offshore Renewable Energy Cost Reduction (SCORE). 2020 - 2021.
2. Dr Segio Lopez-Dubon, Postdoctoral Marie Curie Fellow. Topic: Data-Driven Structural Testing for Tidal Energy. 2020 - 2025.

PhD candidates

1. Dr Madjid Hadjal, PhD, Data Lab industrial. Topic: Automated classification of ocean colour remote sensing for environmental monitoring and legislative compliance. 2018 - 2022. Co-supervisor, student based in University of Strathclyde (main supervisor Dr David McKee) in collaboration with Marine Scotland.
2. Dr Emma McAllister, PhD. Topic: High-resolution satellite remote sensing of the coastal morphology. 2019 - 2024. Co-supervised with BGS (Dr Alessandro Novellino and Dr Andres Payo-Garcia) and Cefas (Dr Tony Dolphin).
3. Dr Solomon White, PhD, SENSE CDT. Topic: High-resolution multispectral estimation of sea surface salinity and temperature. 2020 - 2024. Co-supervised with Cefas (Dr Tiago Silva).
4. Dr Penny Clarke, PhD, SENSE CDT. Topic: Using remote sensing tools to study ocean health and whale strandings. 2021 - 2025. Co-supervised with British Antarctic Survey (Dr Jennifer Jackson).
5. Ed Holt, PhD, SENSE CDT. Topic: Investigating the potential for catastrophic collapse of Greenland's lake-terminating glacier margins. 2021 - 2025. Co-supervised with School of Geosciences (Prof. Peter Nienow).
6. Dr Joe Marsh-Rossney, PhD (School of Physics and Astronomy), guest team member 2018-2021.

Undergraduate and Master's students

1. Charlie Bancroft, BEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: A spatio-temporal optimisation framework for continuous operation of collocated offshore wind data centres in the North Sea. 2025-2026.
2. Rory Elliott, MEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: Blown off course: optimisation of offshore wind LCOE in the era of Net-Zero pragmatism. 2025-2026.
3. Valentina Gonzalez, MEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: Offshore solar resource assessment in the North Sea using remote sensing. 2024-2025.
4. Samantha Waugh, MEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: Levelised Cost of Energy uncertainty estimation - A case study for offshore wind. 2024-2025.
5. Melissa Cabrera Alfaro, MSc Geographical Information Science (School of Geosciences). Topic: The role of fishing refuge areas in the absorption of CO2. 2023-2024.
6. Katie McWilliams, MEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: Sea Surface Salinity From Satellite Data, Machine Learning And Numerical Models. 2021 - 2022.
7. Clementine Frere, MEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: Feasibility Study Of Coastsnap In The Edinburgh Shores. 2020-2021.
8. Hubert Gurs, MEng Structural Engineering with Architecture. Topic: Feasibility Study Of Coastsnap In The Edinburgh Shores. 2020-2021.
9. Nick Heaney, MEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: Coastsnap Assessment For Adaptation To Python. 2020-2021.
10. Marcin Filinger, BEng Civil and Environmental Engineering. Topic: Flood risk assessment in Scotland using satellite data and numerical models. 2019-2020. Awarded Environmental Engineering thesis award.
11. Simone Speltoni, Visiting student, MSc thesis. Topic: Modelling the interaction between marine energy converters and the coast (Collaboration with the University of Trento, Italy). Awarded best MSc thesis. 2019.