Dr Iestyn Woolway
NERC Independent Research Fellow

Overview
Room: 308 Craig Mair
Email: iestyn.woolway@bangor.ac.uk
Web: Google Scholar; Research Gate; Twitter
Dr Iestyn Woolway specialises on climate change impact assessments, with much of his time is dedicated to the study of global environmental change. His work provides insights into how climate change will impact the environment providing roadmaps to resource managers tasked with accounting for ecosystem climate vulnerability in conservation and management decision-making.
Current position
- Reader & NERC Independent Research Fellow, Bangor University, Wales.
Previous positions
- Visiting Research Fellow, University of Reading, UK (2022-2024).
- Research Fellow, European Space Agency Climate Office, UK (2020-2021).
- Research Fellow, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland (2018-2020).
- Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, University of Reading, UK (2015-2018).
Education
- PhD, Physical Limnology | University College London, UK (2015).
- MSc Applied Physical Oceanography | Bangor University, Wales (2011).
- BSc Ocean Sciences (1st) | Bangor University, Wales (2010)
Fellowships, Prizes & Awards
- Yentsch-Schindler Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO). This award honours an aquatic scientist for outstanding and balanced contributions to research, science training, and broader societal issues (2025).
- Philip Leverhulme Prize in Earth Sciences. For researchers at an early stage of their careers whose work has had international impact and whose future research career is exceptionally promising.
- European Space Agency EO Excellence Award. Honouring an early-stage researcher who has made a notable contribution to the pioneering use of Earth Observation. The award shines a spotlight on visionary scientific researchers who are pushing the limits of EO technology to address Earth science challenges.
- Royal Geographical Society (with IGB) Gill Memorial Award for exceptional early career research with a remarkable track record of achievement.
- “Distinguished Scientist” fellowship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences via the President's International Fellowship Initiative.
- Dillwyn Medal for STEMM from the Learned Society of Wales in recognition of early career research excellence.
- UKRI Natural Environment Research Council Independent Research Fellowship (IRF). The NERC IRF scheme is designed to develop scientific leadership among the most promising early career environmental scientists.
- European Space Agency Fellowship. Competitive fellowship programme at ESA.
- Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. The MSCA IFs are among Europe's most competitive and prestigious fellowships.
Research Areas
Teaching and Supervision
Post-doctoral Research Assistants:
- Dr Tomos David (2025-); Postdoctoral Research Officer; Bangor University.
- Dr Weijia Wang (2025-); Postdoctoral Research Officer; Bangor University.
- Dr Yan Tong (2023-2024); Visiting scholar, Southern University of Science and Technology (China).
- Dr Jipeng Shan (2023-2024); Visiting scholar, Southern University of Science and Technology (China).
- Dr Haoran Shi (2023-); Postdoctoral Research Officer; Bangor University.
PhD students:
- Ms Kirsty Forbes (2024-); Bangor University.
- Mr Samuel Jarvis (2024-); Bangor University.
- Mr Weiyao Ma (2024-); Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research; China Scholarship Council.
- Mr Muyuan Liu (2023-); Imperial College London.
- Mr Kang Wang (2023-); Hohai University; China Scholarship Council.
- Ms Weijia Wang (2023-2024); Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology Chinese Academy of Sciences; China Scholarship Council.
- Ms Dieu Anh Dinh (2022-); Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland.
- Ms Sofia La Fuente (2020-2024); Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland.
MSc students:
- Ms Suyuan Zhing (2025-); XI’AN University of Technology, China.
- Ms Georgia Androulakaki (2018); University of Reading.
- Ms Yuhong Yun (2018); University of Reading.
Education / academic qualifications
- 2015 - PhD , Physical Limnology (2011 - 2015)
- 2011 - MSc , Applied Physical Oceanography (2010 - 2011)
- 2010 - BSc , Ocean Sciences (2007 - 2010)
Research outputs (99)
- Published
A novel framework for accurate, automated and dynamic global lake mapping based on optical imagery
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- E-pub ahead of print
New insights on carbon forms in China’s rivers and lakes
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Pivotal role of snow depth, local atmospheric conditions, and large-scale climate signals on ice thinning in Finnish lakes
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Prof. activities and awards (4)
Listening to the Lakes
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk