Dr. Smith holds and MSc from the University of Oxford and a PhD from the University of Aberdeen. Her research at Cranfield explores the governance, institutions and societal dimensions of the water and wastewater services sector.
Recent projects have examined the emergence of new technologies and approaches in the sector, such as water recycling and resource recovery, and how these fit with existing governance frameworks and the perceptions of end users. Her research adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, particularly at the boundary between social science and engineering.