Dr Paul Shepley

Personal Statement

I joined the University of Liverpool in September 2023 as a lecturer in geotechnical engineering following two and a half years working as a data scientist in a think tank (2021-2023) and previously working at the University of Sheffield as a lecturer in geotechnical engineering. As a result, I have experience both in technical engineering skills and policy related work.

My research interests reflect this combined experience, with a desire to embed more technical expertise into policy making - especially around infrastructure, resilience and the net zero agenda. Currently, I'm pursuing interests in inter-seasonal underground thermal energy storage and improving the resilience of infrastructure in a changing climate. Beyond these, I'm also interested in how engineers can contribute to policy more broadly and improve local, national and international decision making.

During my time at the think tank, I worked across a number of research briefs including AI regulation, government data sharing and digital government transformation, levelling up and the integrated rail plan. And I continue to be interested in how (and what) infrastructure can be best utilised in the pursuit of net zero.

My previous research focused on heat transfer through clays and sands, sinkhole formation, water jetting of pile foundations and the scaling laws governing geotechnical centrifuge modelling.