Lecturer in Flood Risk Management
Kate gained her PhD at the former National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, within the School of English at the University of Sheffield. During her PhD research she taught at Sheffield and the Open University, as well as at Hull York Medical School, and coordinated modules in cultural and environmental anthropology in the department of Social Science and Criminology at Hull.
Her research interests span a wide range of interdisciplinary topics in cultural anthropology and sociohydrology, but centre around the interactions between water, people, landscape and identity, and in participatory methodologies and thematic analysis. Her work within the Energy and Environment Institute has included nationally significant research on using mobile technologies for flood warnings, using social value as a way of evaluating flood resilience innovation, and understanding the impact of large-scale public art interventions on people’s engagement with action for climate empowerment.
Her work in flood risk and resilience started in the Flood Innovation Centre, developing novel and creative ways to engage diverse publics with flood resilience and climate change adaptation. She combines research and KE with teaching on the Energy and Environment Institute’s MSc in Flood Risk Management. She is also a member of the Folklore Society's council, has been a judge for the Katherine Briggs book prize, and co-wrote the Society's ethics position statement.
Kate currently contributes to teaching on several modules with the EEI's MSc in Flood Risk management. She supervises student dissertations for this course, and is a second supervisor on two PhDs within the Centre for Water Cultures.
Folklore, Geography, and Environment: Ways of Knowing Water, Landscape, and Climate in the Anthropocene
Smith, K. (2024). Folklore, Geography, and Environment: Ways of Knowing Water, Landscape, and Climate in the Anthropocene. Folklore, 135(4), 525-533. https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.2024.2403864
Place-Based Arts Engagement and Learning Histories: An Effective Tool for Climate Action
Smith, K., McDonagh, B., & Brookes, E. (in press). Place-Based Arts Engagement and Learning Histories: An Effective Tool for Climate Action. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2024.2382473
Serious Gaming to Explore and Investigate Disaster Recovery Gaps
Forrest, S., De Ita, C., Smith, K., Davidson, G., & Amen-Thompson, E. (online). Serious Gaming to Explore and Investigate Disaster Recovery Gaps. Disaster Prevention and Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-01-2024-0035
Mapping Flood Recovery Gaps Phase 2: Final Report. Scaling up and creating legacy
Amen-Thompson, E., Davidson, G., Forrest, S., & Smith, K. (2025). Mapping Flood Recovery Gaps Phase 2: Final Report. Scaling up and creating legacy. Aviva
Written evidence submitted by the Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull to the Environmental Audit Committee inquiry on Flood Resilience. FRE0093
Smith, K., McLelland, S., Davidson, G., & McDonagh, B. (2025). Written evidence submitted by the Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull to the Environmental Audit Committee inquiry on Flood Resilience. FRE0093
Sociohydrology, environmental humanities, participatory and arts-based methodologies, thematic analysis, social value and evaluation
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Natural Environment Research Council
£11,010.78
1 January 2023
Complete
Economic & Social Research Council
£768,576.98
1 April 2024
Ongoing
Arts & Humanities Research Council
£12,670.72
1 July 2024
£436,998.59
£333,903.19
1 August 2020
Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council
£168,790.06
AVIVA Foundation
£91,770.00
1 May 2023
£10,323.40
1 December 2022
University of Hull
£46,573.24
Rising Star: Women in FCERM awards
2025
The Rising Star Award is given to an individual in the earlier stages of their career in flood and coastal erosion risk management, who has proactively influenced and promoted gender equality, diversity and inclusion, making a positive and noticeable difference within their own organisation and beyond.
Language, metaphors and water-out-of-place
2021
Invited keynote for PGR conference sponsored by the Sheffield Water Centre, University of Sheffield
FOSE Ethics committee
Council Member, Folklore Society
2019
Energy and Environment Institute
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