I am originally from across the River Tamar in Devon, but have lived in Cornwall since 2012 when I started teaching. I chose to have a change from teaching and I had always wanted to go back in to research and complete a PhD. i chose to study at CSM as the project advertised really interested me as it was a mixture of different disciplines, geology, microbiology and chemistry. Exeter University also has a great reputation for environmental research at CSM and ESI.
My research focuses on mine water treatment waste and how the minerals and the availability of metal contaminants change as they age in the environment. I am also interested in how microbes can play a role in the availability of metals. The best thing about living in Cornwall is the diversity of fantastic beaches, whenever I have free time I am usually at the beach.
My favourite mineral is Ferrihydrite as my research focuses a lot on it, it could be mistaken as a boring brown mineral, but it has a fascinating crystal structure and it has an amazing ability to bind metals.
