Energy academic conferred associate professor title

An engineer researching energy use and its flexibility who is a Supernumerary Research Fellow at Oriel College has been conferred the title of Associate Professor by Oxford University.

Dr Phil Grünewald joined Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment in 2013, where he held an EPSRC Early Career Fellowship and supported the creation of the Oxford Energy Network under Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith.

In 2017 he joined Oriel College as a Jackson Junior Research Fellow. He has been a College Tutor in Engineering Science since 2020. The Governing Body made him a Supernumerary Research Fellow in 2023.

“My association with Oriel College has been transformative to my career,” Grünewald commented. “The sense of community I experience at Oriel and the kind and stimulating colleagues here are incredible.

“A very special thank you goes to Dr John Huber, whose support in college and department has been invaluable.”

Grünewald is the research director of the £8.6 million Energy Demand Observatory and Laboratory programme.

By tracking electricity use in a sample of over 2,000 UK homes, the project builds a resource that informs energy policy and businesses with data-driven strategies to reduce and shift electricity use to low carbon and low cost times of the day.

“Future low-carbon energy systems will require a lot more flexibility on the demand side,” Grünewald said.

“Electric vehicles and heat pumps will add to electrical demand, but they can also add to system flexibility.

“We use AI on our wealth of data to ensure that the pricing of electricity can result in a system efficient and equitable uptake of such solutions.”

Grünewald is also an engaged rower at Oriel. He has rowed competitively for the College since 2017, regaining both Torpids and Summer Eights headship and racing at Henley Royal Regatta with Oriel. This spring he even rowed across the English Channel to raise money for Oriel’s boat club.

He was also one of a group of cyclists to ride from Oriel to London and back to Oriel in May to celebrate Oriel’s 700th anniversary and raise funds for the College’s outreach programme. 

“The Associate Professor title means the world to me,” Grünewald said. “It changes nothing about my contract or my role and yet, it is a recognition that is deeply empowering.

“Without the home that Oriel provides for me, this would not have been possible. “The enthusiasm of our students and the interest of colleagues drive me on and make this an incredibly rewarding environment to work in.”