2013 Dr Marcos Pelenur

Marcos Pelenur (BScE (Dist) MPhil CEng MIET) is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, as well as a graduate of Queen's University, Canada (2005). In 2010 he completed his MPhil at the Centre, and is now continuing towards a PhD researching the socio-technical factors of energy management in the built environment, as part of the EPSRC Project: Re-engineering the City 2020-2050 (RETROFIT 2050). Prior to returning for further studies, Marcos worked in the energy management industry as a Project Engineer and Manager at Landis+Gyr Ltd.

Marcus undertook his PhD at the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Cambridge. As part of the EPSRC Project: Re-engineering the City 2020-2050 (RETROFIT 2050), Marcos researched household perceptions towards energy, and future socio-technical energy management systems in the domestic built environment. His field research was based in the city regions of Cardiff and Manchester. Marcos' PhD followed from his MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development, which was completed in 2010 and titled, “A study of energy management and its effect on well-being: can we thrive by using less energy?”

Based on his interdisciplinary research approach, Marcus was awarded the Dow Sustainability Innovation Prize in 2011. He was also selected as a 'Leader of Tomorrow' based on a worldwide Public Policy essay competition for the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award.

Prior to Cambridge, Marcos worked as a Project Engineer and Manager at Landis+Gyr Ltd, a smart metering and energy management company, for 4 years in Auckland, New Zealand. Because of his contributions to the New Zealand energy industry, he was nominated and selected in 2007 to represent New Zealand as a Youth Delegate in the World Energy Congress held in Rome that year.

Born in Brazil, Marcos Pelenur moved to Canada in 1988 and graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Electrical Engineering from Queen's University in 2005. He speaks fluent french and conversational spanish.

Marcos' research was supported by an EPSRC Studentship and a scholarship from the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust.