About SEI York

The SEI York centre has 36 core members including four professional research leaders and is located within the University of York. 

When SEI was set up, it asked the then Director of the Beijer Institute in Stockholm to become the first SEI Executive Director. The work of the Beijer Institute was a foundation upon which the initial development of SEI was built, and one centre of the Biejer Institute had been set up by Professor Mike Chadwick, who had been an academic in the Department of Biology from early in the University’s history. Together with another centre in Boston in the US, the York Centre, under the Direction of Mike Chadwick, became one of the founding centres with Stockholm.

SEI-York has built a reputation for bridging science and policy locally in Yorkshire, with regional and national policy makers in the UK and internationally in a number of key areas. In the UK, SEI-York has concentrated on issues related to consumption and behaviour and the impacts of our affluent society on the environment. In developing countries, SEI-York’s activities have focussed  on atmospheric issues, from air pollution in urban centres, to regional air pollution and its interaction with climate change. SEI-York also works at local scales in Africa, attempting to improve management of water resources in arid areas to improve agricultural yields.

SEI at the University of York
The York Centre has now joined the Environment Department after 20 years in the Department of Biology to realise the opportunities for joint research that exist. In addition there are a number of joint appointments with various other university departments. York staff also participate in teaching as well as PhD and Post-Doc / MSc /MRes supervision. The York centre is helping to develop a York Environment Research Initiative across the York campus to develop cross-campus, cross disciplinary research.

Centre staff member Jan Minx is currently based at the Technical University of Berlin, together with Prof. Ottmar Edenhofer, the Deputy Director and Chief Economist of PIK, and the new chair of IPCC WG3. Jan is developing a small York project office focusing on European applications of the Future Sustainability programme's sustainable consumption and production research.

Facilities
SEI York's comprehensive GIS facilities are widely used in projects. It has access to state-of-the-art field and laboratory stable isotope facilities. It also hosts an extensive library on air pollution and other issues and has desk-top publishing and graphics capabilities.

Directions to York
SEI are based in Grimston House on the University Campus (view SEI York in larger map)

If you are coming by train you will want to get the number 4 bus from the station - it is a 15 minute journey. The bus stops just after the roundabout and then about half way down on University Road - you can get off at either stop. York is on the main National Express East Coast route with frequent services from London and with access to Manchester airport.

Detailed instructions on getting to York from outside the area are available on the University of York Travel Information page.