Dr. E. John Ward
Research Fellow
Room 504, Central House
Tel: (Office) +44 (0)20 3108 9543
E-Mail: (Office) eric.ward@ucl.ac.uk
John Ward is a Senior Research Fellow at the OMEGA Centre, Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL). He holds a BEng and MSc in European Civil Engineering from the University of Warwick (1999), an MSc and DIC in Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics from Imperial College of Science and Medicine (2001) and a PhD in Computer Modelling of Pedestrian Movement from UCL (2007).
He became a Fellow at the OMEGA Centre in January 2007 and has been intensively involved with three contract research projects: 1) Research fellow: Study of the treatment of complexity, uncertainty and risk taking in disciplines and professions where these phenomena are at the center of planning decision making: Lessons for mega urban transport projects, 2 year study funded by SEK 5 million Volvo Research and Education Foundations (VREF) Grant, 2007; 2) Deputy Project Manager: Incorporating Principles of Sustainable Development within the Design and Delivery of Major Projects: An international study with particular reference to mega urban transport projects, 18 month study funded by a £50,000 grant provided by the Institute of Civil Engineers and the Actuary Profession, 2008-2010; 3)Senior Research Fellow: International comparative study of decision-making in the planning, appraisal and delivery of mega urban transport projects in ten countries in Europe, USA and Asia Pacific. 7 year study funded by SEK 30 million ‘Global Centre of Excellence Grant’ provided the Volvo Research and Education Foundations (VREF), Gothenburg, 2006-2013.
John’s principal areas of research and teaching lie in the fields of mega infrastructure planning and appraisal using both quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques (including Cost Benefit Analysis and Multi-Criteria Analysis), as well as in the analysis and mitigation of infrastructure project risk, uncertainty and complexity in strategic decision-making. He currently lectures two modules of the MSc in Mega Infrastructure Planning, Appraisal and Delivery from the Bartlett School of Planning: BENVGMP3 ‘Risk, uncertainty & complexity in decision-making’ and BENVGMP5 ‘21st Century infrastructure planning, appraisal and delivery toolbox’.
Prior to joining the OMEGA team, John was a researcher at the Centre of Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) where he developed both macro and micro scale validated models of pedestrian movement in central London using spatial datasets, statistical techniques, object orientated programming languages and agent based modelling paradigms. John also worked for local governments and for a private consultancy in the fields of transportation and spatial analysis. This work included the development of the London Pedestrian Model for TfL, base-lining the social and environmental impacts of the Canning Town regeneration project for London Borough of Newham, mapping crime risk through linking spatial crime data to pedestrian flows in central London for The Central London Partnership, A safety study of the Notting Hill Carnival for Westminster City Council and conducting design guidance for 8 A&E departments for the NHS Trust “Reforming Emergency Care” programme.
Prior to Joining CASA John was an EU Young Researcher at the University of Pavia, Italy: developing a dynamic finite element model for the assessment and design of reinforced concrete buildings under seismic loads.