Dr Charlie Ferguson

Date in FIBE: 2016 - 2020

History before joining: Before joining FIBE I completed an MEng degree at the University of Warwick with a Masters thesis which focused on retrofitting seawalls to mitigate splash overtopping. 

Title of thesis plus a very short summary: The effects of Natural Flood Management on urban surface drainage performance.

Traditionally, the evaluation of rural Natural Flood Management (NFM) has focused on the ability of interventions to mitigate downstream fluvial flooding by attenuating catchment response. The thesis tried to expand this focus by investigating whether these same interventions could also mitigate surface flood risk in downstream urban areas. More specifically, the PhD explored the ability of upstream NFM to moderate water levels in urban watercourses and thereby promote free discharge from urban drainage outfalls.

Why did you join FIBE? I wasn't sure what what direction to take with my PhD and the MRes year was an opportunity to get to know the existing research going on in the department

How did it help you? It was great to have a social circle with FIBE students which remained consistent throughout my time at the department. 

What are you doing now? I am a research fellow in off-grid sanitation at the Cranfield Water Science Institute, working on a project looking at the scaling up of container-based sanitation in Cape Town, Cap- Haïtien, Nairobi and Lima. 

Contact: crf35@cantab.ac.uk