Prof Jo Patterson is Director of Research at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA), Cardiff University and has more than 25 years of experience in the development and delivery of fundamental and applied research projects in the area of sustainability in the built environment with a particular focus on energy. These projects have involved multidisciplinary groups from Wales, the UK and Europe including both academic industrial and government partners, with projects funded by through the EU, Government, UKRI and industry.

Jo is Co-Director of the £4.6m Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Green Transitions Ecosystem ‘Transforming Housing and Homes for Future Generations’ which aims to create a new multi-partner, transdisciplinary, design ecosystem to transform housing for future generations using bio-based and non-extractive materials, together with renewable energy supply and storage.

This builds directly on the Centre for a Low Carbon Built Environment (CLCBE) research at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) at Cardiff University. Replicable, affordable and appropriate whole house energy systems have been planned, designed, procured, installed and evaluated across a range of buildings combining renewable energy supply, energy storage and energy demand reduction solutions. Funding also includes monitoring and evaluation of the Homes As Power Stations programme that runs until 2028. This followed Jo playing a key role in the development and delivery of the Low Carbon Research Institute supported by the Welsh Government/WEFO. Between 2018-2023 Jo was a key part of the leadership team for the UKRI/Innovate UK funded EnergyREV consortium where 70+ interdisciplinary researchers from 22 Universities across the UK worked together to provide evidence on solutions to scale up smart local energy systems.

Jo is a Net Zero Ambassador for the GW4 Alliance that brings together four of the most research-intensive and innovative universities in the UK: Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. She is Co-chair of the Wales Innovation Network NZ Group and part of the Management Board of the Cardiff University (CU) Net Zero Innovation Institute. As Strategic Lead of the EPSRC Harmonised Impact Accelerator Account at CU Jo works with a team of experts from across CU to fund projects that bridge the gap between research and the world’s understanding of its outputs to generate genuine impact. Jo is part of the UKRI Interdisciplinary Assessment College as part of the Chair Pool, working across the UKRI disciplines.