Richard J. Dawson

Professor
Richard Dawson
Dawson at the IPCC Cities and Climate Change Science Conference, 2018
Born
Richard J. Dawson
Known forInfrastructure resilience; Flood and coastal risk management; Water security; Adaptation to climate change
AwardsFellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2023)
Queen’s Anniversary Prize (2024)
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
ThesisPerformance based management of flood defence systems (2003)
Academic work
InstitutionsNewcastle University

Richard J. Dawson FREng is a British civil engineer and academic. He is Professor of Earth Systems Engineering at Newcastle University. His work focuses on climate risk, infrastructure resilience, and water security.

Education

Dawson holds a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree in Civil Engineering with study in France and a PhD from the University of Bristol, completed in 2003.[1]

Career

Dawson began his academic career as a Research Associate at the University of Bristol from 2002 to 2004. He subsequently joined Newcastle University, where he was a Research Associate from 2004 to 2006 and a Senior Research Associate from 2006 to 2010. He was appointed Reader in Earth Systems Engineering in 2011 and became Professor in 2012.[2] In 2010, he was a Research Fellow at Arizona State University.[3]

From 2017 to 2020, Dawson served as Group Head for Water within the School of Engineering at Newcastle University, and in 2020, he was appointed Director of Research and Innovation for the School.[4] He also served as Associate Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research from 2015 to 2025.[1]

In 2025, Dawson was appointed to the Science and Technology Advisory Council of the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).[5]

Research

Dawson's research focuses on the assessment and management of climate-related risks to urban areas, infrastructure, and the built environment. His work combines engineering and environmental systems modelling and is often conducted in collaboration with policymakers and international organisations.

He served as Director of the UKRI GCRF Water Security Hub, an £18 million initiative that applied a systems-based approach to address global water security challenges.[6] His contributions include national-scale flood risk assessments in the United Kingdom, the development of models for infrastructure resilience analysis, and frameworks for evaluating water security in international catchments.[7]

Dawson has worked on the integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies at the urban scale.[8][9] He led the EPSRC-funded iBUILD programme, which developed methodologies for valuing infrastructure resilience and informed UK government guidance.[10]

From 2019 to 2025, Dawson was a member of the Adaptation Committee of the UK's Climate Change Committee.[11] He also acted as a technical expert to the National Infrastructure Commission between 2016 and 2023.[12]

Dawson contributed to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report as a lead author for Chapter 6 on Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure,[13][14] and as coordinating lead author for the Cross-Chapter Paper on Cities and Settlements by the Sea.[15][16]

Awards and honours

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ a b "Richard Dawson". Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
  2. ^ "Richard Dawson - Press Office". Newcastle University. 4 February 2019.
  3. ^ "How Can Cities Grow Sustainably?" (PDF). Arizona State University.
  4. ^ "Professor Richard Dawson". Newcastle University.
  5. ^ "Science and Technology Advisory Council appointments". GOV.UK. July 2025.
  6. ^ "How is Newcastle University Improving Global Water Security". Newcastle University.
  7. ^ Laville, Sandra (8 February 2025). "More than 100,000 homes in England could be built in highest-risk flood zones". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "UK struggling to keep pace with climate change impacts". Newcastle University. 16 June 2021.
  9. ^ "UK researchers decry 'shameful' cuts to international support fund". Physics World. 24 March 2021.
  10. ^ "i-BUILD: Infrastructure BUsiness models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery". UKRI.
  11. ^ "Professor Richard Dawson appointed to the CCC's Adaptation Committee". Climate Change Committee. 30 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Newcastle academic to support National Infrastructure Commission". Newcastle University. 28 November 2016.
  13. ^ "Chapter 6: Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure". IPCC.
  14. ^ "Climate change: a threat to human wellbeing and health of the planet". Press Office. 28 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Cross-Chapter Paper 2: Cities and Settlements by the Sea". IPCC.
  16. ^ Dwyer, Orla (28 February 2022). "IPCC findings not 'doom and gloom' but a wake-up call to act on climate, report author says". TheJournal.ie.
  17. ^ "Royal recognition for water research". Press Office. 16 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Professor Richard Dawson FREng". Raeng.org.uk.
  19. ^ "Lloyd's science of risk" (PDF). lse.ac.uk. 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  20. ^ "Registrants among 73 new Fellows elected by the Royal Academy of Engineering". Engc.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024.
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