Dr. Parag is the Vice Dean of the IDC’s School of Sustainability. She holds a BSc degree in biology, and MA and PhD degrees in social sciences. Between 2005 and 2011 she was a researcher in the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), at the University of Oxford, UK and a senior researcher at the Energy Group (Lower Carbon Future). Her research focuses on the transition to low carbon and sustainable energy systems. She is an expert on energy consumer behaviour, consumer and prosumer integration into the smart electricity grid, energy security, local and community governance of energy, public acceptance of energy generation technologies, personal carbon trading and more. In addition, she is developing the Middle Out framework and applies it as an analytical tool for understanding socio-techno-economic transitions. Previously, she studied the process through which drinking water standards and regulations are set and the environmental, social and economic impacts of bottled water consumption.