Professor Susan Krumdieck Research Website
Dedicated to converging a consortium of universities and organisations, joining with communities, policy makers and industry to employ Transition Engineering as an effective discipline across all fields. Risks and systems failures caused by unsustainable energy and materials systems can be managed by Systems Transition Engineering Processes. Our STEPs research creates value and benefits for all stakeholders through projects that shift unsustainable systems.
Research, Innovation, Education, Transition Engineering
Professor Krumdieck is Chair in Energy Transition Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland 2020-present. She worked with the Islands Councils, partners at European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), consulting firm Aquatera, Community Energy Scotland, government and organisations to establish the Islands Centre for Net Zero (ICNZ) as a crosscutting facility of the Islands Growth Deal. With more than £4M in resources, the Transition Lab provides the research, innovation and development modelling for the ICNZ projects.
From 2023 Professor Krumdieck is building a new Systems Transition Engineering Processes programme as Theme Leader for the Global Research Institute for Net Zero and Beyond (iNetZ+). This initiative addresses all facets of transitions that realise 80% downshift in fossil fuel by discovering innovative transition shift projects that have positive business cases today, and long-run transformative potential. The programme includes a new Masters degree, MSc Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transitions (MSc ReSET) which is a fully on-line, self-paced global course, and offers CPD and Executive Education courses on Transition Engineering.
“How do we plan, design, finance, and deliver the complex, whole systems transformation projects required to meet the conditions of strong sustainability?”
led an interdisciplinary research group in the College of Engineering, University of Canterbury from 2000 to 2020. Students have worked in the context of industry, government, and communities on transition to resilient and environmentally integrated systems. Systems-level engineering research is urgently needed to provide near and long-term solutions for communities, organizations and business. Since coming to New Zealand, the interdisciplinary AEMSLab research group has included energy and buildings engineering, transport engineering, risk management, physics, geography, computer science, negotiation, business management, project management, design, environmental science, biophysical economics, psychology and social science. Humboltzian continuous attention to scientific observation of complex systems, together with direct working with and listening to communities, Iwi, councils, consultants, we have focused our research on the core question raised across our society:
"I think your research focus has a high value because it could help us learn from our mistakes by breaking the BAU model, and actually help us realise that we need to address the ‘How do we…’ question." Energy Expert
Books by Prof. Krumdieck
Transition Engineering; Building a Sustainable Future (2019) CRC Press
Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems 2nd Edition(2014)
Transition Engineering in Energy Solutions to Combat Global Warming (2016) pages 647-706
Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems 3rd Edition (2018)
Transition Engineering
Let's be clear - the world cannot "technology our way out" when it comes to the existential problems of global warming, resource scarcity, ocean acidification, biodiversity collapse, social inequity and economics that drive the tragedy of the commons. There is no time to "discover new sustainable technologies" and work through the decadal uptake to substitute for unsustainable systems. If you are an engineer who is working on sustainable technologies, if you are a student wanting to change the world, if you are a researcher who has already spent decades on the politically correct miracle technologies - then I invite you to look up. Join the Transition Engineering movement. You need to learn about behaviours, cultures, resource extraction, environment. You need to have expertise in energy an material systems, but you also have to know policy and economics. There are enough people working on hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, biofuels, electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines. The next giant wave of radically creative and ingenious engineering work is HOW to CHANGE the things that are useful and economic, but are, in fact, the foundations of unsustainability.
Complex problems require systems engineering of technologies and infrastructure in the context of often competing economic, social, and environmental factors. This can often involve the development of renewable energy or clean technologies. However, real transition projects for companies or communities require a systems engineering approach, creativity and innovation.
- Projects that address the risks of un-sustainability
- Transition re-development of urban form
- Urgent and significant fossil CO2 emissions reduction
- Biophysical Economics (EROI) in energy and material intensity of the economy
- Strategic analysis of complex systems applied to hydrogen investments
- Post peak oil, carbon constrained Transportation Systems
- Long-range future transition planning
- Geothermal Energy
- Climate Change Workshop: Ideas Beyond Targets
- Energy Transition Engineering for remote sustainable communities
- Transition re-development of existing commercial buildings
- Transition re-development of existing residential built environment
Youtube Channel 
Over the years, a number of presentations of Transition Engineering projects and ideas have been invited by a wide range of audiences. Professor Krumdieck's YouTube Channel has links to videos on topics like housing, transport, and urban transitions presented by AEMSLab researchers.
