Meet the EDC Team: Oliver Brough - Data Steward

My name is Oliver Brough, and I joined the Energy Data Centre (EDC) team in July 2025. My role is Graduate Energy Data Steward, meaning I am responsible for supporting the addition of new content to the EDC, maintaining and improving the metadata quality of the data we hold, creating and improving EDC guides and policies, and ensuring we are aligned with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) practices. I am also responsible for assisting UKERC researchers with their Data Management Plan processes to ensure there outputs are as open as possible.

I joined the team after graduating from the University of Leicester with a degree in Physics, where my final year project involved using an estimation algorithm to combine satellite datasets of land surface temperature and emissivity at varying resolutions to examine heat distribution in urban areas. During my time in academia, I came to understand the necessity of open data that follows FAIR practices to ensure optimal reusability between projects across a variety of sectors. I aim to bring this passion for FAIR data to my role with the EDC and ensure that we provide a service that can achieve its goals on open research.

The areas of energy research that I am the most interested in are renewable and nuclear energy. I believe that being able to utilise and optimise the renewable energy sources available to the UK is key for our future in building a sustainable and secure energy market. Additionally, my background in Physics has drawn me towards nuclear energy, especially recent developments into nuclear fusion. My opinion is that both of these aspects are very important areas of research and development, and I am keen to see how these advance in the years to come.

I look forward to being able to provide a valuable service to the EDC to support its growth and progression.