Adam X. Hearn

Born Anglo-Polish, I grew up in Spain and now have dual German-British nationality. I am biligual English-Spanish and speak fluent French and (passable) German.

Academically I completed my BA in development studies, sociology and social anthropology at the University of Kent at Canterbury. I went on to complete an MA in Medical Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, where I was awarded a Masters with Merit, notably receiving a distinction grade for my thesis. My PhD is in energy governance (Insigni Cum Laude) and was part of a Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, Innovative Training Networks (ITN), SMART BEEjS (Smart Value Generation by Building Efficiency and Energy Justice for Sustainable Living)

.

Since completing my PhD, I have had a number of postdoctoral research positions, initially working on TRICOP, a Trinational cooperation platform for sustainability initiatives, social work institutions and sustainability-oriented companies. I also held a post-doc role on “Are Religions Becoming Green?” project, led by Prof. Jens Köhrsen

I am currently a postdoctoral research working at the WWZ in Basel on the project SWEET CoSi, Co-Evolution and Coordinated Simulation of the Swiss Energy System and Swiss Society, examining Positive Energy District stakeholder collaborations.

I also hold a postdoctoral research position at the Sustainability Research Group, Basel, on the Horizon Europe project ENPOWER examining energy communities in different European countries, and I am also involved in the SWEET ReFuel project, examining consumer acceptance of innovative artificial and renewable fuels.

I am a EU Climate Pact Ambassador, and work towards changing peoples energy consumption behaviour in order to help bring about a fair transition.

I am a member of the STRN (Sustainability Transitions Research Network https://www.transitionsnetwork.org/) where I have been active in plans for the creation of a grassroots innovations thematic group (presentation given 11.06 Beyond Energy Positivity: The Role of Cross-Sector Collaboration in Shaping Positive Energy Districts) as well as proposing a thematic track for the IST conference 2026 (Navigating the Transition: The Role of Sustainable and Alternative Fuels in the Destabilization and Phase-Out of Fossil Regimes)

I am also a full member of the ASA (Association of Social Anthropologists https://www.theasa.org/)