He is also co-director of the Community Energy Knowledge and Action Partnership (CEKAP). Kirby received his PhD in Geography (2013) through the Queen's Institute of Energy and Environmental Policy, where he developed concepts and techniques to assess and spatially plan for local renewable energy generation. As an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University (2013-2015), Dr. Calvert broadened his research program to understand how existing and emerging renewable energy technologies interface with landscapes, land-use plans, and land-based economies. In 2015, Kirby brought this research program to the Geography Department at the University of Guelph and to CEKAP.