Dr Helen Underhill

I am an anthropologist who engages social and cultural relationships with water as key to successful adaptation strategies for a near future shaped by anthropogenic climate change. Through my transdisciplinary research and teaching, I aim to contribute to equitable solutions to water security challenges that are culturally and contextually sensitive.

I am currently working within the European Centre for Environment and Human Health on the Local Climate Adaptation Tool (LCAT) project.

In my previous role at University of the West of England Bristol (UWE), I worked on stakeholder co-creation of Digital Twins for Flood Risk Management, mapping emerging opportunities and challenges in the development of environmental DTs and their interfaces from a qualitative, ethnographic perspective.

From 2020 - 2024, I supported the UKRI GCRF Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub at Newcastle University. This was a trans-disciplinary research hub which tackled the intractable challenges of water security and addressed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation). I led a workstream on Valuing Water, supporting international colleagues across the Hub to develop engaged research on the diverse ways that we appreciate and interact with water, and exploring the implications of this for water security.