Melika Mirzaei

Biography

I’m Melika, a first-year PhD student in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York, based in the Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratories (WACL). I completed my MSc in Health, Safety and Environment Engineering at the University of Tehran (2022-2025) and my BSc in Industrial Safety Engineering at Shahid Beheshti University (2018-2022). My background is in health risk assessment and air pollution, and I’m now moving into atmospheric measurement and instrument development.

Qualifications

• MSc in Health, Safety and Environment Engineering, University of Tehran (2022-2025)
• BSc in Industrial Safety Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University (2018-2022)

Research interests

Atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, soil NOx emissions, isotope measurements, health risk assessment

Project title

How much do agricultural sources actually contribute to UK nitrogen oxide emissions?

Supervisors

• Professor Pete Edwards
• Professor David Carslaw

Funding

UKRI

Project outline

This project uses stable nitrogen isotopes (δ15N-NOx) to identify and quantify sources of nitrogen oxides, particularly soil emissions versus combustion. It involves developing a laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) instrument to measure NOx isotopes in real time, field studies in collaboration with the University of Warwick, and modelling of soil NOx emissions to improve understanding of their impact on air quality.