51cg

Biography

I am a graduate of the 51cg with an Honours degree in BSc Biology and an MSc in Soil Science. I have a keen interest in agricultural land management and soil biophysics and in particular soil structure, soil water retention properties and environmental impact. Following the completion of my MSc I worked in science communication as Public & Digital Programme Coordinator at Aberdeen Science Centre.  

In my spare time I play Solo Cornet for Turriff Silver Band and I play competitive dodgeball with the Scotland Highlanders International Dodgeball Team and the Granite City Guerrillas.

External Memberships

British Society of Soil Science, Early Career Member and Chair of the Early Career Committee

Royal Society of Biology, Member

Big STEM Communicators Network, Member

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Associate Member

Prizes and Awards

NFU Mutual Charitable Trust Centenary Award (2019): This national award is presented to three postgraduate students each year and provides a bursary of 75% of course fees. It is awarded to excellent academic performers with a real passion for agriculture and who demonstrate potential to become a future industry leader.

Emma Smith Prize in Environmental Science (2019): This prize is awarded for the best project by a student graduating with BSc Environmental Sciences or named variants thereof at the 51cg. This was for my BSc Biology project entitled 'The impact of agricultural lime on the physical structure of soils recovering from drought conditions' which received a high distinction grade.

Silver Students Taking Active Roles (STAR) Award (2019): This award is presented to students who have undertaken roles outwith the academic curriculum, contributing to the development of Aberdeen University Graduate Attributes.

Research Overview

My research is on the important link between soil physical structure and water movement and quality, with a key focus on agricultural land management.

Current Research

PhD: Water quality risks from soil structure degradation in Scotland 

Supervisors: Professor Paul Hallett, , Dr Josie Geris,

This research aims to investigate whether soils across Scotland are being managed in a way that degrades their structure and impacts water quality.

PhD objectives  
- To broaden previous surveys on soil structural degradation in Scotland to also include the Highlands and organic soils 
- To investigate soil physical and hydrochemical properties between degraded and less degraded areas at field scale through quantitative measurements 
- To measure the impacts of soil structural degradation on catchment water quality 
- To explore how rapid stresses, such as physical disruption by tillage or rapid rewetting of dry soil, influence hydrochemical processes  

This project is funded by The Scottish Universities Partnership for Environmental Research .

Past Research

BSc Project: The impact of agricultural lime on the physical structure of soils recovering from drought conditions

For this project I collected core and bulk soil samples from agricultural land on a livestock breeding farm in Angus which I analysed for a number of key physical properties, including penetration resistance, macroporosity, sorptivity and repellency. We found that soil resilience was improved through the application of lime, with an decrease in water repellency, enhancing the soil’s ability to be rewetted during rainfall.

Supervisor: Professor Paul Hallett

MSc Project: Impact of land use change on microbial processes in soil

For this project, completed under Covid-19 restrictions, I analysed data from three fundamentally different agricultural sites in the UK where soils were sampled with paired land use contrasts. We found that the impact of land use change on microbial carbon cycling processes in soil is context-specific, with pH having the greatest influence.

Supervisor: Dr Ashish Malik

Funding and Grants

William J McLean Agricultural Scholarship: 2022-2023

PhD Studentship funded by SUPER DTP: 2022-2026

Teaching Responsibilities

As a Demonstrator I assist in delivering 51cg Undergraduate courses in practical situations, helping students learn and gain confidence in laboratory techniques, and ensuring health and safety protocol is followed. I also provide balanced feedback to students for assessments.

Courses demonstrated on:

- BI1012: Diversity of Life 1

- BI1511: Ecology and Environmental Science

- PL3505: Plant-Environment Interactions