Contact Dr Stephen Hallett

Areas of expertise

Background

Doctoral thesis:

Hallett, S.H. (1998). The Development and Application Of Spatial Information Systems For Environmental Science. PhD Thesis. Cranfield University, School of Agriculture Food and Environment.

Master's Thesis:

Hallett, S.H. (1988). Mapping the Distribution of Accumulated Temperature for Land Evaluation. MSc. Thesis. Cranfield University, School of Agriculture Food and Environment.

Undergraduate thesis:

Hallett, S.H. (1987). A Study of the Environmental Impact of the Dartington Institute Project Silvanus on the Management of Small Ancient Woodlands. BSc. (Hons) Thesis. Dept. Environmental Science. Plymouth Polytechnic.

Prior to working at Cranfield, Stephen worked in the University of Stirling, Scotland, between the Departments of Environmental Science and Economics.

Current activities

Stephen Hallett haslong-standing expertise in the application of spatial decision-support systems, big data, GIS, remote sensing and informatics in environmental science, with particular reference to soil resource systems and the natural environment. His work involves modelling geohazards and the application of spatial, policy-oriented environmental decision-support systems. Stephen's research interests include agri-informatics; soil and land resource management; geohazards and urban infrastructure; and environmental risk mitigation and climate change impacts.He has worked on a wide range of public and private-sector projects in the UK and internationally.

Stephen was recently appointed one of NERC’s ‘Digital Environment Champions’, a role overseeing the ‘Constructing the Digital Environment’ Strategic Priorities Fund programme led by NERC, and supported by EPSRC and Defra.

Stephen is Director and Centre Champion of the NERC/ESRC 'DREAM' Centre for Doctoral Training in big data and environmental risk (http://www.dream-cdt.ac.uk). He is also the Cranfield manager and point of contact for the NERC 'CENTA2' Doctoral Training Partnership (http://www.centa.org.uk).

Stephen has a responsibility for Cranfield's national Land Information System (LandIS) [Defra SP1608], containing comprehensive soil and related near-earth environmental information for England and Wales (http://www.landis.org.uk).

Stephen sits on the governing board of the Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI) (http://www.dafni.ac.uk) within the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure & Cities (UKCRIC).

Stephen is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) founding the Cranfield 'Environmental Data Science' MSc, he teaches on the Cranfield MSc in ‘Geographical Information Management’ (GIM). He is the author of a wide range of academic papers and reports and supervises several doctoral studies ranging from infrastructure geohazard modelling to geo-biophysical land systems degradation.

Selected research projects across UK and EU funding agencies include: ‘CINITDIEN - Championing INnovation In The DIgital ENvironment’ [NE/S016287/1]; GCRF ‘Tackling precision nutrient management in developing countries using geospatial and in-field technology: Case study Kenya’; European Commission Joint Research Centre project ‘Collection of soil data in SOTER format from 14 Danube strategy countries, at scale 1:250 000’ [JRC/IPR/2017/D.3/0002/OC]; Satellites for Food Precision Soil Mapping [NERC NE/P008860/1]; FOWARIM (Fostering Water-Agriculture Research and Innovation in Malta) [H2020-TWINN-2 (692162)]; Optimising Big Data to Drive Sustainable Agricultural Intensification - Soil-for-Life [BBSRC BB/M011860/1]; Enhancing nutrient use efficiency from biosolids for a resilient crop production system [NERC NE/M012794/1]; Community Response to Extreme Weather Events (CREW) [EPSRC EP/F036795/1]; Development of a Horticultural Soil Management Information System (SMIS) [AHDB CP107d/3110107425]; Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium [EPSRC EP/I01344X/1]; Irish Soil Information System [European Environmental Protection Agency STRIVE 2007-S-CD-S1]; Ecosystem Services Databank and Visualisation for Terrestrial Informatics [NERC NE/L012774/1]; Farming Truth [European Space Agency ESTEC A0/1- 6124/09/NL/US].

Stephen also runs Soil-Net (http://www.soil-net.com) - an environmental educational resource for school students and teachers, serving soils information to over a million users worldwide. He also leads Cranfield's 'World Soil Survey Archive and Catalogue' project (WOSSAC) (http://www.wossac.com) - a unique global environmental archive pertaining to soils and soil resources. WOSSAC was instrumental in Cranfield being awarded the 2017 Queens Anniversary Award for Soil Science.

Clients

Over many years, Stephen Hallett has worked with a wide range of clients and research sponsors, including:

  • AHDB
  • Alexander Forbes Ltd.
  • Anglian Water Ltd.
  • ARUP
  • Atkins Ltd.
  • BBSRC
  • British Society of Soil Science (BSSS)
  • Coastal Partnership East
  • Defra
  • Environment Agency (EA)
  • EPSRC
  • ESRC
  • European Environment Agency (EEA)
  • European Space Agency (ESA)
  • Hampshire County Council (HCC)
  • Heath Lambert Ltd.
  • HTSPE Ltd.
  • Innovate UK
  • Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission
  • Legal and General Ltd.
  • NERC
  • Network Rail
  • Opportunity Peterborough, Peterborough City Council
  • Severn Trent Water Ltd.
  • Suffolk District Council
  • Teagasc, Ireland
  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  • United Utilities Ltd.
  • Yorkshire Water Ltd.

Publications

Articles In Journals

Conference Papers

  • Hallett JS, Partridge M, James SW, Tiwaria D, Farewell T, Hallett SH & Tatam RP (2017) Soil moisture content measurement using optical fiber long period gratings. In: 25th International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors, OFS 2017, Jeju, 24-28 April 2017.
  • Pritchard OJ, Hallett SH & Farewell SH (2015) Soil-related geohazard assessments for maintaining the UK's minor road network. In: European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2015 , Vienna, 12-17 April 2015.
  • Azalarib A, Hallett S & Brewer T (2015) Desertification mapping using the MEDALUS methodology in Jeffara Plain**2015 Conference. In: DesertLand II: Conference on Desertification and Land Degradation, 2015, Ghent, 16 June 2015.
  • Dewitte O, Jones A, Spaargaren O, Breuning-Madsen H, Brossard M, Dampha A, Deckers J, Gallali T, Hallett S, Jones R, Kilasara M, Le Roux P, Michéli E, Montanarella L, Thiombiano L, Van Ranst E, Yemefack M & Zougmore R (2014) A new harmonised soil map of Africa at the continental scale.. In: 11th European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2014 (EGU), Vienna, 27 April - 2 May 2014.
  • Towers W, Allton K & Hallett S (2014) Education and awareness raising activities of the British Society of Soil Science.. In: 11th European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2014 (EGU), Vienna, 27 April - 2 May 2014.
  • Hallett S (2014) Big Data and Environmental Informatics. In: Science for the Green Economy 2014 (S4GE), Herbert Smith Freehills, London, 14 May 2014.
  • Hallett SH & Deeks L (2012) A history of Soil Survey in England and Wales. In: EGU General Assembly, Vienna, 15-20 April 2012.
  • Scott ABJ & Hallett SH (2011) Open Source GIS for small organisations. In: GISRUK 2011, University of Portsmouth, 27 April 2011.
  • Simms DM & Hallett S (2011) Development of a web-based portal for supporting community resilience to extreme weather events.. In: 11th International Disaster and Emergency Resilience : IDER 2011, Florence, 13 April 2011.
  • García García V, Perotto-Baldivieso HL & Hallett S A prototype design for a web-GIS support system: The Bolivia Amazon case study.. In: The 4C – Challenge: Communication – Coordination – Cooperation – Capacity Development, Bonn, 12 October 2010.
  • Simms DM & Hallett SH (2011) WISP- scenario-based dissemination toolkits; Disseminating the outcomes of CREW. In: Community Resilience to Extreme Weather (CREW) Final Conference and General Assembly, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), London, 25 November 2011.
  • Hallett SH (2011) Community resilience to extreme weather. In: Emergency Planning for Severe Weather, Central London, 15 October 2011.
  • Towers W, Creamer R, Broll G, Darboux F, Duewel O, Hallett SH, Houskova B, Jones A, Lobnik F, Micheli E & Zdruli P (2010) Soil Awareness and Education : Developing a pan European Approach. In: 19th World Congress of Soil Science, Brisbane, Australia.
  • Hallett SH & Keay CA (2010) Requirements and use for soil data at the EU level. In: European Soil Bureau Network (ESBN) Annual Congress, Brussels, DG Environment, 21 September 2010.
  • Blenkinsop S, Hallett SH, Truckell IG, Fowler & HJ (2010) The CREW project: Towards a toolkit for the use of probabilistic climate change projections.. In: BHS Third International Symposium: Role of Hydrology in Managing Consequences of a Changing Global Environment, Newcastle University, UK, 19 July 2010.
  • Hallett SH & Simmons T (2007) The Soil-Net project. In: Association of Universities in the East of England, in association with COVER: Higher Education: Engaging with our Communities , Cambridge, 19 November 2007.
  • Hallett SH, Boyce D, Laidoudi G, Mcintosh BS, Rinaudo JD, Courtois N, Imeson A & Holden A (2005) SCAPT: A Strategic Catchment Analysis and Planning Tool.. In: Drought and Water Deficiency: From Research to Policy Making, Cyprus, 12 May 2005.
  • Hallett SH, Ozden DM, Keay CA, Colombo BJ, Koral A, Keskin S & Bradley RI (2002) A Land Information System for Turkey ? A Resource for Future Sustainable Development.. In: The Future of the Mediterranean Rural Environment: Prospects for Sustainable Land Use and Management, Menemen, Turkey, 8 May 2002.

Books