Deborah, Professor of Ocean Engineering, is one of the country’s foremost experts in offshore renewable energy. Her expertise spans two decades, having published over 180 peer-reviewed papers, and she is Director of the University’s Coastal, Ocean and Sediment Transport (COAST) laboratory, which is one of Europe’s leading facilities driving innovation in wind, tidal and wave technologies.
Powering new ways of thinking around offshore renewable energy
In addition to offshore renewable energy, her research interests centre on the physical and numerical modelling of wave-structure interactions. Working with partners across industry and academia, her research projects have been supported by major funding bodies including EPSRC, EU Interreg, IEE, H2020, and InnovateUK.
She leads the Collaborative Computational Project in Wave Structure Interaction (CCP-WSI), which involves developing a new community-serving Numerical Wave Tank (NWT) code and the development and benchmarking of numerical tools to tackle specific technical challenges arising from the physics of complex wave-structure interactions.
Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub
Deborah is currently Director of the UK’s Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub, a £9million EPSRC research programme supported by both government and industry which unites academics and industry to provide solutions which meet the UK’s offshore renewable energy requirements.
Thought leadership
The race to 2050: harnessing the ocean’s energy
The global demand for energy shows no sign of slowing. Across the world, nations are using power in ever-expanding quantities and in new sectors, such as the widespread electrification of transport. Read more about offshore renewable energy
Partnership for Research In Marine Renewable Energy
She is inaugural Chair of PRIMaRE (Partnership for Research In Marine Renewable Energy) and led the €2 million SOWFIA programme to provide recommendations for the much needed European-wide streamlining of impact assessment and approval processes, to remove legal, environmental and socio-economic barriers to the development of offshore power generation from waves.
She was made an OBE for services to Marine Renewable Energy, Equalities, and Higher Education in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
The person behind the pioneer
A stiff south-westerly is leading the charge of waves onto the beach, pounding it flat in percussive beats. Overhead, the huge clouds that have unloaded intermittent heavy rain in the preceding hours have temporarily been scoured from the sky, a fragile truce of brilliant blue holding for now.
"I love the power of the sea”. Read more about Professor Deborah Greaves
Appearing on The Life Scientific
In August 2023,
Professor Deborah Greaves OBE FREng
was interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 programme The Life Scientific.
She talked to presenter Jim Al-Khalili about her early inspirations and first forays into the world of engineering, and her ongoing work to develop new sources of clean energy that can harness the power of the ocean.
To enquire about future collaborations, please contact Professor Deborah Greaves
We have existing expertise in many of these emerging fields of technology, an observation recently highlighted by the Science and Innovation Audit. In particular, the unique mix of maritime heritage, natural marine resources, and the physical infrastructure and track record associated with existing high-tech marine industries presents an ideal location for the establishing of a world-leading offshore renewable energy test-bed.
Professor Deborah Greaves
Current projects and research activity
Plymouth Pioneers: marine researchers
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Professor Jason Hall-Spencer
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Professor Awadhesh Jha
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Dr Sanjay Sharma
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Professor Kerry Howell
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Professor Deborah Greaves, OBE FREng
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Professor Kevin Jones
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Professor Gerd Masselink
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Professor Alison Raby
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Professor Richard Thompson, OBE FRS
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Professor Mat Upton
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Dr Abigail McQuatters-Gollop
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Professor Mel Austen
Home of marine
Our marine and maritime excellence in world-leading research informs policy agendas for the sustainable management of ocean resources. Our work has significantly improved how to forecast extreme coastal events and their impact on communities. We were the first to study the ecological effects of ocean acidification, and now lead the UK agenda for offshore renewable energy. On national and international levels, we have influenced key policies, conservation practices, responses to climate change, public perception of marine issues, and are defining the pathways toward tangible solutions.
The culture of close collaboration across the city with researchers, policymakers, and local businesses has resulted in Plymouth’s nomination for the UK’s first National Marine Park – an initiative underpinned by research at the University.
