Meet the team
The Environmental Chemistry Group (ECG) Committee is made up of members from both academia and industry. Each committee member is assigned a specific role so that ECG members can easily access someone for specific information on a Group activity. Suggestions from members for topics for future ECG meetings are also particularly welcome.
Chair and Executive Editor ECG Bulletin
Professor Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay
Dr Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay is a lecturer in Environmental Engineering at the University of Glasgow. Caroline holds Masters degrees in Analytical Chemistry (EPSCI-Paris) and Forensic Science (University of Strathclyde) and a PhD in Environmental Engineering (Queen’s University, Belfast) and works at the boundary between engineering and science to tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges such as pollution and water scarcity. Her research employs states of the art analytical and spectroscopic approaches to track and remediate contaminants, e.g. persistent organic pollutants, personal care products and micro plastics, in the natural environment and in engineered systems. world” issues and have developed solid partnerships with industry and policy makers. From early in her career, she has been committed to research that is strongly anchored in real-funding and support from companies and governmental bodies. Caroline is also an active player in issues around diversity and inclusion in STEM, she is co-project director on the VisNET Inclusion Matters project and a member of the TIGERs in STEMM. Caroline joined the committee in 2018.
Treasurer
Dr Helena Rapp Wright
Helena Rapp Wright earned her BSc in Chemistry at the University of La Laguna (ULL, Spain) in 2014 and an MRes in Forensic Science at King’s College London (KCL, UK) in 2016. During her BSc and MRes, she undertook an industrial placement and two research projects focused on analytical chemistry.Following her MRes study, she worked at LGC (Fordham, UK) for two years in the small molecules department for bioanalytical sciences. Her work focused on developing analytical techniques for the identification and quantification of drugs from clinical trials, as well as their sample analysis. In 2018, she successfully secured a PhD studentship sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Ireland. Her PhD was held in the School of Chemical Sciences at Dublin City University (DCU) and part-time at KCL, researching contaminants of emerging concern in environmental water samples. Her PhD was completed in 2021, and she is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London within the Emerging Chemical Contaminant Group.Helena is also a member of Royal Society of Chemistry. Her research interests lie in the broad areas of analytical and environmental chemistry, mainly wastewater analysis, and contaminants of emerging concern.
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Secretary & DGL Co-Convenor
Laura Alcock BSc. (Hons)
Laura Alcock is a Project Lead at Edwards Ltd. The site where she is employed manufactures Exhaust Management, or Abatement, Systems for the safe destruction and removal of harmful process gases involved in the manufacture of semiconductors, solar panels, flat panel displays, LEDs, etc., to prevent their introduction into the environment. She is responsible for coordinating projects to commercialise new products and platforms – this helps to improve efficiency and Laura’s role allows her to ensure that products are designed in a manner that minimises their impact on the environment.
Laura studied for her BSc. (Hons.) in Forensic Science, at Liverpool John Moores University and has varied work experience which opened her eyes to the extent to which people consider their surroundings as disposable. Her work now allows her the opportunity to correct this consideration and to make a real contribution to the protection of our global environment. Laura is currently looking into further study, with a particular interest and focus on environmental chemistry and energy processes. Laura joined the committee in 2018.
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Dr Kiri Rodgers
Kiri Rodgers environmental geochemist, with an analytical chemistry background using a wide variety of techniques including but not limited to ICP, spectroscopy, SEM and XRD. Currently researching “anti-microbial resistance in the real world”, which explores the influence of historical industrial significance and its pollution-related effects on multiple-antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, and how it currently impacts public-, agricultural, and environmental health.
Dr Rowena Fletcher-Wood CChem MRSC
Dr Rowena Fletcher-Wood is a freelance science communicator and writer. She completed her doctoral research in environmental materials chemistry at the University of Birmingham on remediation of chromate species in waste water using redox-active molecular sieves and previously studied at Somerville College, Oxford. Her interests lie in outreach and communications. Rowena joined the committee in 2014.
Dr John Collins FRSC
Dr John Collins completed his doctorate at Sheffield University, researching coatings for heat resistant alloys. He is Deputy Director of Evidence, Assessment and Evaluation at the Environment Agency, where his team provides evidence to lead and enable activities across air, water and land, including: River Basin planning, tackling waste crime, catchment sensitive farming and state of the environment reporting. John’s team also takes a strategic view, leading on horizon scanning and futures work and developing a Natural Capital approach. John leads the Environment Agency’s RSC accredited scheme supporting candidates for membership and chartered status. John joined the committee in 2020.
Dr Pablo Campo-Moreno
Dr Pablo Campo-Moreno is a senior lecturer in applied chemistry at the Water Science Institute, Cranfield University. He investigates the behaviour of chemicals in both natural and engineered aquatic systems. His research focuses on the following areas: fate, and transport of nutrients and contaminants of emerging concern in water, soils, and sediments; environmental forensics to identify sources and reaction pathways; and field- and laboratory-scale experimental research that bridges gaps between data and predictions from molecular, continuum, and field-scale modelling. Pablo joined the committee in 2021.
Dr Stephanie Powley
Dr Stephanie Powley is an analytical chemist at British American Tobacco, Southampton. Stephanie gained her PhD at the University of Southampton, having previously studied for a BSc in Environmental Chemistry at Bangor University and an MSc in Oceanography at the University of Southampton. Having grown up on the Isle of Wight, Steph retains a strong interest in Environmental Chemistry, with a particular interest in marine chemistry, as a personal passion, not directly related to her current professional area. Steph is also a keen advocate of science communication and runs a small blog where she covers a variety or science news items and topics, often with a focus on environmental matters. Steph joined the committee in 2021.
Dr Sebastian Diez
Sebastian Diez is currently Researcher at the C+ Research Center (Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile). During his PhD training, he has developed experience in field trace gases and aerosol measurements, and more recently in low-cost sensor and satellite products. After his doctoral studies, he has been involved with regional NGOs and local governments working on climate change and air quality projects. He is currently a member of the Latin America Early Career Earth System Scientist Network (LAECESS) and editor of Nibö, a digital media aiming to socialise scientific knowledge in LatAm. Sebastian joined the committee in 2022.
DrTomás Sherwen
Dr Tomás Sherwen is a researcher at DEFRA. Previously he worked as scientist for the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) at the University of York where he has a focus on numerical modelling of the chemistry of the atmosphere.
His PhD was focused on developing the atmospheric chemistry scheme in the global open-source GEOS-Chem model to explore the concentrations and the effects of halogen chemistry in the preindustrial & present day. Since then he has worked at both global and regional scales and uses novel machine-learning techniques. He worked on a range of science questions from Criegee intermediates to sulfur-halogen atmospheric cycles to sea-surface concentrations. Tomás joined the committee in 2019.
Dr Emma Braysher
Dr Emma Braysher is a Higher Scientist at NPL in the Air Quality and Atmospheric Metrology Group. Emma was awarded her PhD by the University of Surrey in 2021 for her research on the development of reference materials and the evaluation of decay data to support the characterisation of naturally occurring radioactive materials. During her PhD, Emma collaborated extensively with the Postgraduate Institute for Measurement Science, where she also served as an ambassador for communications. Emma joined the committee in 2024.
Dr Adam Peters
Dr. Adam Peters is a Principal Scientist at WCA and an environmental chemist with over 12 years of experience in environmental consultancy, regulation, and academia. Adam holds a PhD in Aquatic Chemistry and a BSc in Environmental Chemistry, having also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Durham University.
He has played a key role in the development and implementation of bioavailability-based Environmental Quality Standards for metals in Europe. Adam’s expertise includes assessing the environmental fate, behavior, bioavailability, and effects of trace metals, particularly using biotic ligand models. He also specializes in environmental risk assessments for industrial chemicals and evaluating persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances. Adam joined the committee in 2024.
Dr Valerio Ferracci MRSC
Valerio Ferracci is a Senior Scientist in the Air Quality and Aerosol Metrology Group (AQAM) at NPL.Valerio obtained his PhD from University College London on laboratory studies of the kinetics of ozone-depleting halogen oxide radical reactions. He then worked at the National Physical Laboratory on the detection of volatile organic compounds and reactive gaseous species using a variety of techniques. Following a post-doctoral position at the University of Cambridge in which he explored tropospheric oxidation pathways in global atmospheric models, he moved to his current position in Cranfield to work on the development of low-cost sensors for long-term monitoring of atmospherically important species. Valerio joined the committee in 2017.
Niall Marsay
Niall Marsay is a Doctoral student in the Cranfield Water Science Institute where he is conducting research as part of the Regeneratis Project into the application of portable visible near and mid-infrared spectrometers as a tool for informing the decisions surrounding resource recovery and remediation of Post Metallurgical Sites and Deposits (PMSD).
Starting at Bangor University, Niall Undertook integrated Masters degree in Chemistry, building a broad understanding of the chemical sciences. During his 3rd year, he developed his own project investigating acid mine drainage with a focus on comparing different remediation strategies. Upon completion of his thesis, Niall received an invitation to present his work at the International Network Environmental Phronesis Annual conference in Beijing.
Following his time at Bangor Niall joined Cranfield University to complete a Master’s By Research in which he spent a full year using flow cytometry to analyse Thames Water’s drinking water treatment works producing one of the most extensive studies to date.
Symiah Barnett
Symiah Barnett is a PhD student at Loughborough University, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. With a strong focus on environmental chemistry, her research explores methodologies for the extraction and analysis of plastic particles smaller than 10 microns in the environment. Additionally, Symiah completed a Research Fellowship at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), where she conducted interviews with various stakeholders, including academics, consultants, and government departments. During her fellowship, she published a POSTnote on the environmental impact of fertilizers and food security.
Dr Amy-Louise Johnston
Amy-Louise Johnston is an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellow in the Food, Water, Waste Research Group at the University of Nottingham’s Faculty of Engineering, UK. Her current research focuses on advanced wastewater treatment, with a particular emphasis on developing new sorbent materials for the removal of emerging contaminants. Amy-Louise completed her PhD at the University of Nottingham, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Chemistry. During her PhD, she published five journal articles and presented her work at numerous international conferences. In 2023, she was honored with the Gertrude Cropper Scholarship Endowed Award at the University of Nottingham Researcher Academy Tri-Campus Awards. Amy joined the committee in 2024.