Prior to starting my PhD I completed an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Oxford (2013-2016) and an Msc in Applied Meteorology from the University of Reading (2022-2023).
My research to date has focused on understanding the representation of dust in weather and climate models. Dust aerosols play a really important role in warming and cooling the earth, whether by interacting with radiation, altering the formation and optical properties of clouds, or by influencing the carbon cycle through ocean sequestration. My undergraduate research used measurements from aircraft flying at low-level across the Central-Western Sahara during the FENNEC campaign to understand how low-level jet wind systems generate dust storms. During my MSc I compared this same dataset to weather model simulations that used experimental dust emission and transport schemes, focusing on whether models are able to match the observed size distribution of dust particles.
I have been awarded a range of academic prizes for my research, including the Alfred Steers Royal Geographical Society Prize for the best undergraduate geography dissertation in the UK, the H.O. Beckit Prize for the best Physical Geography Dissertation, the Met Office Academic Partnership Prize for the best Climate Science Dissertation (for both my undergraduate and masters research), and the J.C.A. Meldrum Fieldwork Prize for the best fieldwork research. I was also awarded the Centenary scholarship by the University of Reading for academic excellence.
I have also worked outside of academia, having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served as an infantry platoon commander in the Yorkshire Regiment from 2018-2022.
