Rhianna Evans

Biography

I’m a final year PhD student at the University of York in the Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratories. My research aims to improve our understanding of the emissions from biomass burning through non-target screening and the development of atmospheric chemical mechanisms. I previously obtained my Integrated Master’s at the University of York where I first started research into air quality and decided I wanted to pursue a PhD in the analytical/atmospheric chemistry field.

Qualifications

MChem in Chemistry specialising in Environmental and Atmospheric Chemistry

Memberships and Fellowships

Royal Society of Chemistry, The Aerosol Society.

Research interests

Mass spectrometry, Non-target screening, Air pollution, Biomass burning, Analytical chemistry

Teaching interests

Atmospheric and Analytical Chemistry

Project title

Understanding the formation and evolution of biomass burning organic aerosol using non-target data approaches and mechanism development.

Supervisors

Funding

NERC PANORAMA DTP (2021)

Project outline

Biomass burning is one of the largest sources of trace gases and organic aerosol (OA), a key component of particulate matter (PM),to the atmosphere. Wildfires, agricultural burning, and domestic combustion of solid fuels all fall under the umbrella of biomass burning therefore it represents a widespread source of air pollution. Approximately 6.7 million deaths are caused each year by exposure to poor air quality and in 2021 PM was the largest contributor to the global disease burden. My research aims to improve our understanding of the composition of organic aerosol from biomass burning (BBOA) and how it evolves in the atmosphere. There are two main strands to my PhD research: developing analytical methods for use in non-target screening of BBOA and evaluating the atmospheric chemistry of volatile organic carbon species emitted during biomass burning through experimental chamber studies.

Presentations

“Changes in surface level NO2 in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to predicted 2020 concentrations and the impact on O3” oral presentation. European Geosciences Union (EGU), 2021 (Virtual)
“Characterising the chemical composition of domestic wood burning aerosol using LC-Orbitrap-MS in chamber studies” oral presentation. Annual Aerosol Society Conference, York, 2022
“Flaming vs Smouldering: the differences in chemical composition of wood burning aerosol and the implications for toxicity” oral presentation. American Geosciences Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2023
“The complex chemistry of biomass burning emissions” poster presentation. Royal Society of Chemistry Faraday Poster Symposium, London, 2023
“Flaming versus smouldering: chemical characterisation of organic aerosol from wood burning emissions using a quantitative non-target approach” poster presentation. European Aerosol Conference (EAC), Tampere, 2024
“What is the composition of biomass burning organic aerosol and how can we improve our understanding of its formation?” oral presentation. University of California, Berkeley, 2024 (Invited Speaker)

Awards and prizes

Virtual Outstanding Student and PhD candidate presentation award at the 2021 EGU conference.
EGU Outstanding Student Presentation Award, 2020
Annual Aerosol Society Best PhD/Early Career Researcher Presentation Award, 2022,
Aerosol Society Doctoral Student Award, 2023,
EAC Best Poster Award, 2024