Two Centre for Energy Ethics Members – Dr Shona Russell and Dr Gordon Hastie – have had their projects green-lit for funding through the Scotland Beyond Net Zero Seed Fund.
Dr Shona Russell, senior lecturer in the Business School, will lead Blending Finance for Nature Restoration with Professor Colin Dey (Dundee). Working with Bioregioning Tayside in the River Isla catchment, the project will explore how public, private and philanthropic funding can be combined to support nature restoration and community resilience, with a focus on socially just and ecologically beneficial outcomes.
Dr Gordon Hastie, principal research fellow in the School of Biology, will work alongside Professor Mamdud Hossain (Robert Gordon University) on the Seal–Turbine Interaction and Behaviour-Informed Tidal Energy Design Project. The research will combine marine biology and fluid dynamics to understand how seals interact with tidal turbine flows and inform turbine designs that support renewable energy while reducing risks to marine mammals.
These two projects are among four involving researchers from the University of St Andrews to receive SBNZ Seed Funding in the 2026 cycle – the other two being led by Dr Oxana Magdysyuk (Chemistry) and Dr Loraine Clarke (Computer Science). We at the CEE are thrilled for both Gordon and Shona as well as all the other recipients of this funding. It is a great recognition of their work and a wonderful opportunity to continue the excellent research being done around the University of St Andrews around Net Zero in a local Scottish context.
‘Scotland Beyond Net Zero’ is designed to promote research collaboration across all academic disciplines, empower communities, and inform the policymaking and action Scotland needs to reach its ambitious targets. In line with these objectives, all SBNZ Seed Fund projects involve collaboration between at least two participating universities and engagement with external partners such as communities, government, industry or third-sector organisations. In total, fourteen projects across Scotland have received funding in 2026.
