William (Bill) Bloss
PROFESSOR of ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
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Atmospheric processing affects the current and future composition of our air, with impacts upon human and environmental health, air quality and climate.
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My group's work improves scientific understanding of the causes of poor air quality, and hence the development of effective policy measures for Clean Air. We focus upon the sources of atmospheric pollutants, and the chemical processes which remove some air pollutants and produce others.
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Introduction
Atmospheric processing affects the current and future composition of our air, with impacts upon human and environmental health, air quality and climate. My research group addresses areas of atmospheric chemistry and clean air science, including
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- Understanding the sources and transformations of air pollutants in the urban atmosphere, ranging from trends in the UK to developing megacities such as Delhi
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- Quantifying the sources and sinks for atmospheric oxidants: impacts from processes such as new reactive nitrogen emissions and particulate-mediated renoxification
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- Applying air pollution science to improve local and regional air quality policy measures
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Our work combines atmospheric field measurements, simulation chamber and laboratory studies and numerical modelling approaches. Fundamental understanding of the atmospheric chemical system is placed in an applied context: working with partners to apply clean air science for improved human and environmental health.
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This is my personal research website. Please also see my official University of Birmingham homepage.
Scroll down for news, current projects and research group members.
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Opportunities: I'm happy to discuss ideas for PhD research projects and applications for funded fellowship schemes. Please send me an email (ideally with your CV and an outline of your interests and ideas). Our funded job opportunities within research projects will always be advertised externally through sites like jobs.ac.uk, and on the University jobs pages.
Research Projects
WM-Air
WM-Air: Clean Air Science for the West Midlands
WM-Air is a five-year project to apply Birmingham's environmental science expertise to deliver improved air quality and health across the West Midlands, working in partnership with over 20 public and private sector stakeholder organisations.
ASAP-Delhi
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Air Pollutant Sources in the Delhi NCR
ASAP-Delhi will provide authoritative assessment of the sources, formation process, burden and characteristics of air pollutants in Delhi, with a philosophy of deriving pollutant source, budget and behaviour insights from direct atmospheric observations.
AIRPRO-Beijing
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Air Pollution Sources and Processes in Beijing
The AIRPOLL and AIRPRO projects will identify the emission sources and chemical transformations giving rise to poor air quality - haze - in Beijing.
ARNA
Atmospheric Reactive Nitrogen Cycling over the Ocean
Photoenhanced reactions on aerosol particle surfaces may convert NOx sinks into NOx precursors, changing atmospheric oxidising capacity. We are investigating this new mechanism in the laboratory and through field measurements at the Cape Verde atmospheric observatory.
BAQS / OSCA
Birmingham Air Quality Supersite (BAQS)
BAQS is one of three national urban air quality supersites, providing detailed online characterisation of air pollution levels, responses to policy interventions and emerging trends
TRANSITION
Transition is an interdisciplinary network undertaking innovative research to address emerging indoor/outdoor air quality challenges across UK surface transport, in the Net Zero context
Research Group (See also WM-Air Team)
Research Group Alumni
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Former PhD / Graduate Students
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Dr Tara Rasoul
ClNO2 Modelling
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Danny Blenkhorn
Now at Kore Technology Ltd
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Lubna Al-Saadi
Lecturer at the University of Qatar
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Hao Huang
Air Monitors UK, Gloucester
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Jian Zhong
WM-Air Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
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Suad Al-Kindi
Lecturer at Higher College of Technology, Muscat, Oman​
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Salim Alam
Research Fellow at Birmingham​
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Vivien Bright
Postdoc position at Cambridge​
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Kate Faloon
Postdoc positions at Leicester and Leeds / NCAS
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Lucy Concannon
MPhil Student: Moved to Azko Nobel
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Former Postdocs
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Louisa Kramer
Now at Ricardo AEA
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Leigh Crilley
Now at York University, Toronto
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Mike Newland
Postdoc positions at UEA and the University of York
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Marie Camredon
Lecturer at LISA, Paris
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Juan Najera
CIBION, Buenos Aires
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Shana Saha
BSP Optical Performance Centre, Birmingham
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Catherine Bale
Postdoc position at the University of Leeds
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Microsoft ExCel - Advanced
Microsoft Word - Advanced
Power Point - Proficient
Adobe - Proficient
French - Mother Tongue
Spanish - Advanced
SKILLS
William Bloss - Biography
Publications
Publons / Reseacher-ID Profile
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Research Funding
UKRI funding via Grants-on-the-Web
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External Profiles
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Career
Professor of Atmospheric Science, University of Birmingham
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2007+ : School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
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2001 - 2006: Research Fellow; Lecturer, School of Chemistry, University of Leeds.
1999 - 2001: Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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1995 - 1999: Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry), University of Cambridge
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1992 - 1995: BA (Natural Sciences – Chemistry), University of Cambridge.
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1991 - 1992: Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Deacon Laboratory
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Professional
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Head of School, Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of Birmingham (2016 - 2020)
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NERC: Core Peer Review College (2015 -)
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Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
Chair, RSC Environmental Chemistry Group (2013 - 2015)
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Co-editor, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (to 2016)
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