Dr Moray Stark
Honorary Fellow
Email: moray.stark@york.ac.uk
Chemical Education and Chemical Safety
I am very interested in teaching and promoting safety in chemistry labs, and have developed the Chemistry degree syllabus at York to improve understanding of key issues in chemical safety, including:
- fire hazards in labs, particularly from highly flammable solvents and pyrophorics
- hazards from reaction scale up
- hazards of energetic materials and mixtures
- toxicity hazards
- protective measures, and
- methods to assess, control and minimise risk
I undertake research in the field of chemical safety and recently published an investigation on whether personal characteristics contribute to the spillage of chemicals in labs, or:
- is there such a thing as accident prone people
- short answer: No
I also undertake research in the field of chemical education and have published the results of a randomised controlled trial on the effects of verbal feedback on a fine motor skill, or,
- does telling students about the potential consequences of the chemicals they spill help them to spill less in subsequent experiments
- short answer: Yes (probably)
Until September 2020 I was the safety adviser for the Department of Chemistry of the University of York and was also the Chemistry Department Disabilities Contact for 2019-20. I was also Chair of the University Chemical Safety Forum from 2012-2016, a not-for-profit group with the aim of promoting chemical safety in the university sector.
Lubricants & Fuel Research
I have been active in lubricants & fuel research for many years and have supervised 14 PhD students working in this field, supported by sponsorship from major industrial partners, with the overall aim of improving the efficiency of automotive engines and hence reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and cost to run.
