Kathy Davies is a historian specialising in twentieth-century Britain and Ireland, with a research focus on energy, environment, and the lived experience of technological and policy change. Her work explores how individuals and communities have engaged with energy use, energy policy, and air quality, and how historical perspectives can shape public discourse, heritage engagement, and decision-making in the present.

With expertise in interdisciplinary and multimethod research, Kathy draws on sources ranging from newspaper archives and modern political papers to contemporary oral histories. This foundation informs a distinctive historical approach to sustainability research and policy engagement.

Recent publications include articles in Energy Research and Social Science and chapters on “Keeping Warm” and “Breathing Clean Air” in the co-authored book project Was the Past More Sustainable?, serialised by the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre.

Kathy has held research positions at the University of Manchester (2021), University of York (2022), Sheffield Hallam University (2022–25), Churchill College, University of Cambridge (2025), and the British Library (2025). She is also Co-Chair of History Lab Plus, the national network for early career historians based at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London.