Toby Carter
PhD Student
Profile
Biography
Toby is an Environmental Science PhD student in the Department of Environment and Geography. He is specifically looking at investigating air chemistry at the indoor/outdoor interface using computational modelling under the supervision of Professor Nicola Carslaw.
Before embarking on his PhD in 2021, Toby completed an integrated Masters degree in Chemistry (MChem) at the University of Hull. During his degree, he completed a year in industry at Eurofins UK Ltd where he developed and validated various analytical testing methods including the determination of nitrite and nitrate in foodstuffs using ion-exchange chromatography and the determination of chloride in foodstuffs using a potentiometric chloride analyser.
Following his year in industry, as part of his Masters degree research project, he worked on the development of chiral-at-metal organometallic anticancer compounds. Specifically utilising ruthenium as the centre of these transition metal complexes.
Career
- 2021-2024 PhD Environmental Science University of York
- 2016-2020 MChem (Hons) Chemistry with Industrial Experience (First Class) University of Hull
- 2018-2019 Laboratory Analyst (Year in Industry) Eurofins UK Ltd
Research
Overview
PhD Project
A Modelling Study of Air Chemistry at the Indoor/Outdoor Interface
People spend around 90% of their time indoors, whether that be sleeping, working or other recreational activities. Yet the majority of the research on air pollution to date has been on the outdoor environment. It is only recently however, that indoor air pollution has seen a greater exposure around the health implications of indoor conditions.
My project revolves around examining the impact that outdoor air chemistry has on an indoor environment and vice versa, as well as to provide an insight into the measurements yielded from the recent CIE program experiments, particularly those which surfaced from cleaning and cooking. These experiments were conducted as a field campaign in a representative household in the USA. The study was named HOMEChem and investigates how everyday residential activity affects emissions and chemical transformations in the home. This venture encapsulates the idea that outdoor environments have a severe detrimental impact on indoor chemistry, but also the concept that indoor chemistry can affect the outside world too.
I am also part of the MOCCIE (MOdelling Consortium for Chemistry of Indoor Environments) program and will operate and develop the model established at the University of York (INCHEM-Py) to ascertain the effects of indoor air chemistry and its health implications.
- Supervisor - Professor Nicola Carslaw (University of York)
- Funding/Sponsorship - Alfred P. Sloan Foundation – Chemistry of Indoor Environments Program
Publications
Selected publications
Carter, T. J., Poppendieck, D. G., Shaw, D. and Carslaw, N. (2023), ‘A Modelling Study of Indoor Air Chemistry: The Surface Interactions of Ozone and Hydrogen Peroxide’, Atmospheric Environment, 297, 119598. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/
