Group members

Steve Fotios

Member since 2005

Steve was an engineer. His PhD (UMIST, 1997) was an investigation of spatial brightness at photopic levels. He proposed a brightness model that included the short-wavelength cones and twenty years later finally completed a satisfactory literature review of spatial brightness. He is somewhat cynical about data gathered using rating scales and spurious myths in lighting.

Steve leads the group, with responsibility for the overall strategy, publications, external funding and achieving impact.

Email: steve.fotios@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheffield University staff page

Jim Uttley

Member since 2012

Jim is a psychologist. His PhD (Sheffield University, 2016) used eye tracking to find out where pedestrians look when walking in a natural environment and then used an experiment to identify optimal lighting for a task (obstacle detection) suggested by the eye tracking to be important. He is interested in making sure statistical analyses are carried out properly.

Jim leads work on data analyses for promoting active travel.

Email: j.uttley@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheffield University staff page

Yichong Mao

Member since 2017

Yichong initially trained as an architect. His PhD (Sheffield University, 2021) studied those tasks used in pedestrian lighting research to ask whether those conclusions hold when we focus on more than one task at the same time.

Yichong is a researcher on the HAROLD project.

Email: yichong.mao@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheffield University staff page

Chris Cheal

Member since 2005

Chris originally studied physics. Later on he completed a PhD (Sheffield University, 2007) looking at how the spectrum of street lighting affects brightness and visual performance for pedestrians. This work is reported in several papers.

Chris designs and builds the apparatus we use in experimental research.

Email: chris.cheal@sheffield.ac.uk

Sheffield University staff page

Demet Yesiltepe

Member since 2022

Demet is an urban planner and designer. She develops her research in the fields of the built environment and active travel. Her PhD research  (Northumbria University, 2021) aimed to understand how spatial layouts, particularly landmarks, affect people’s navigational performance. In this research, Demet examined a game, Sea Hero Quest (SHQ), which was developed to understand Alzheimer’s and was played by more than 4.3 million people around the world.

Demet is a research associate and works on EPSRC-funded project SATURN (Supporting Active Travel Using Road-lighting at Night). 

Email: d.yesiltepe@sheffield.ac.uk 

Sheffield University staff page

Gavin Tolan

Member since 2023

Gavin is a physicist, with previous experience in civil engineering and street theatre. His PhD thesis (Sheffield Hallam University, 2008) ivestigated different techniques for manufacturing photovoltaic cells

Gavin runs the laboratory, building apparatus to support our research projects. 

Email: gavin.tolan@sheffield.ac.uk