Our people
Our team is drawn from teaching, research and professional staff across Curtin University.
The Curtin Institute for Energy Transition team covers a broad spectrum of energy research interests. If you’re interested in joining the team, email ciet@curtin.edu.au for more information.
Professor Peta Ashworth OAM
Director
Professor Peta Ashworth OAM is a renowned expert in energy, communication, stakeholder engagement, and technology assessment. She has researched public attitudes towards climate and energy technologies, including wind, carbon capture and storage (CCS), solar photovoltaic, storage, geothermal and hydrogen, for almost two decades.
Dr Maureen Boyle
Senior Research Fellow
Dr Maureen Boyle has over 15 years interdisciplinary experience in the energy and development sectors nationally and internationally, with previous roles in government (state and federal), the renewable energy industry, and the not-for-profit sector.
Dr Julian Clifton
Senior Research Fellow
Dr Julian Clifton’s interests lie in social aspects of the energy transition, including stakeholders views, perceptions and participation in aspects of the transition, the economic, social and environmental aspects of decommissioning offshore oil and gas structures and the application of carbon credits to finance decarbonisation.
Dr Emma D’Antoine
Research Fellow
Dr Emma D’Antoine recently completed her PhD researching psychosocial risk factors for offshore oil and gas workers and gained a Chancellor of the University’s Commendation. She is currently researching the views of a range of stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition.
Dr Steve Harris
Associate Professor
Dr Steve Harris has 25 years’ experience in applied sustainability research, consultancy and project management. He is a leading international expert on life cycle sustainability assessment to support the development of innovative technologies and systems.
Dr Lydia Maketo
Senior Research Officer
Dr Lydia Maketo is a social scientist researching issues around actors and acceptance in hydrogen technologies, with a background of investigating public attitudes toward technology acceptance. Lydia is passionate about new technology uptake and the associated socio-economic impacts.
Professional staff
Natalie LeGuay
Centre Operations Coordinator
Natalie manages day-to-day operations at the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition. She has previously worked in operations support and administrative positions in a variety of sectors. Natalie’s previous roles have included executive support in both healthcare and education.
Elena Perse
Communications and Engagement Coordinator
Elena Perse (she/her) is a science and research communicator. She holds a Master of Arts (Professional Writing and Publishing) from Curtin University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Communications from the University of Western Australia.
Associated researchers
Dr Bishal Bharadwaj
Adjunct Research Fellow
As a quantitative economic geographer, Bishal’s primary interest lies in evaluating the efficacy and equity of environmental policies across heterogeneous contexts. This multifaceted approach spans critical domains, encompassing energy, plastic, pollution, and climate change.
Dr Jeffrey Jacquet
2025 Fulbright Scholar
Jeffrey is an environmental and natural resource sociologist with a focus on energy development, including social impacts from the development of renewables and fossil fuels. He is based at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Dr Hannah Velure Uren
Inaugural Short-Term Fellow
Hannah is a lecturer in psychology in the School of Population at Curtin University. Her research focuses on the psychological determinants of health and environmental behaviour, in particular, the interaction of people and their environment.