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Barbara Maher

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Barbara Maher
Born
Barbara Ann Maher

1960 (age 63–64)
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool
AwardsChree Medal and Prize, Institute of Physics (2005)
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2006 - 2012)[1]
Schlumberger Medal and Award, Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2014)
Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2020)
Bullard Lecturer, American Geophysical Union (2021)
Distinguished Lecturer, College of Fellows, American Geophysical Union (2023)
Awarded membership, Academia Europaea (2024)
Elected, Fellow of the Royal Society (2024)
Scientific career
FieldsGeophysics
Earth science
Paleoclimate
Environmental magnetism
Paleomagnetism[2]
InstitutionsLancaster University
University of East Anglia
University of Edinburgh
ThesisOrigins and transformations of magnetic minerals in soils (1984)
Websitelancaster.ac.uk/lec/about-us/people/barbara-maher

Barbara Ann Maher is a Professor Emerita of Environmental Science at Lancaster University. She served as director of the Centre for Environmental magnetism & Palaeomagnetism[2] until 2021 and works on magnetic nanoparticles and pollution.[3]

Education and early career

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Maher earned her Bachelor's degree in geography at the University of Liverpool. She remained there for her graduate studies, earning a PhD in environmental geophysics for research on the origins and transformations of magnetic minerals in soils.[4]

Career and research

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After completing her PhD, Maher was made a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Fellow at the Department of Geophysics, University of Edinburgh.[5] She joined the School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia as a lecturer in 1987 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1996 and Reader in 1998.[5] Here she investigated the magnetic properties of ultrafine sub-micron magnetites.[6][7] Using her understanding of magnetic mineral formation in soils, she evaluated the paleo-climate of the Chinese Loess Plateau.[8][9] She developed spatial and temporal reconstructions of the Asian palaeomonsoon.[10] She was the Royal Institution Scientists for the new century lecturer in 1999.[5] She edited the book Quaternary Climates, Environments and Magnetism in 1999.[11]

Maher also studies magnetic nanoparticles to track dust impacts on climate change and changes in human health due to particulate air pollution.[1] She was described by Richard Harrison as having "single-handedly developed the field of environmental magnetism".[12] She demonstrated that soils that were exposed to higher rainfall make more magnetite.[1] She has studied how windblown dusts impacted the levels of greenhouse gases.[1] She is interested in magnetic records of Quaternary terrestrial sediments.[13] She launched the Quantifying Uncertainty in the Earth System (QUEST) Working Group on Dust in 2008.[14]

Maher became interested in metal-rich particulate pollution.[15] In 2013 Maher demonstrated that silver birch trees could be used as pollution filters.[16][17] The result was part of an investigation into the impact of roadside trees on the concentration of particulate matter found in people's homes.[18] Silver birch trees are covered in tiny hairs, which can trap the particulate matter whilst allowing clean air to circulate.[16] The matter is washed off the leaves when it rains, allowing the birch trees to trap even more particulate matter.[16] Her work was examined by Michael Mosley and Gabriel Weston on the BBC show Trust Me, I'm a Doctor.[16][19] They found that the pollution collected in houses protected by silver birch trees was 50 - 60% lower than in houses without them.[20][21][22]

In 2016 Maher found toxic, metal-rich nanoparticles in human brain tissue.[23][24][25][26] By studying the nanoparticles using an electron microscope, Maher found they were small and round, some with surface crystallites, indicating that they had been formed at high temperatures, rather than in the brain itself.[27] The nanoparticles comprise a mix of iron-rich, strongly magnetic particles associated with other metals, including platinum, cobalt, aluminium and titanium. Similar metal-rich nanoparticles occur in abundance in urban air pollution, especially at busy roadsides. As the nanoparticles have diameters that are less than 200 nm, they can enter the brain via the lungs and blood circulation, via ingestion and transport through the neuroenteric system, and through the olfactory nerve.[28] Magnetite can produce reactive oxygen species in the brain.[23] Maher became concerned that these magnetite particles could be linked to Alzheimer's disease, mental illness and reduced intelligence.[23][29] Her work on air pollution nanoparticles in human tissues attracts worldwide scientific, and media, attention. She has appeared on numerous BBC News and World Service TV and radio programmes, including BBC Radio 4's Inside Science in 2018, discussing the Government of the United Kingdom Clean Air Strategy.[30] S

Awards and honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Anon (2006). "Professor Barbara Maher: Research Fellow". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b Barbara Maher publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ ORCID 0000-0002-8759-8214
  4. ^ Maher, Barbara Ann (1984). Origins and transformations of magnetic minerals in soils. copac.jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Liverpool. OCLC 499883188. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.354553. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Prof. Barbara A Maher". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. ^ Maher, Barbara A. (1988). "Magnetic properties of some synthetic sub-micron magnetites". Geophysical Journal International. 94 (1): 83–96. Bibcode:1988GeoJI..94...83M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.1988.tb03429.x. ISSN 0956-540X.
  7. ^ Maher, Barbara A.; Taylor, Reginald M. (1988). "Formation of ultrafine-grained magnetite in soils". Nature. 336 (6197): 368–370. Bibcode:1988Natur.336..368M. doi:10.1038/336368a0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4338921. Closed access icon
  8. ^ Maher, Barbara A.; Thompson, Roy (1991). "Mineral magnetic record of the Chinese loess and paleosols". Geology. 19 (1): 3–6. Bibcode:1991Geo....19....3M. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0003:MMROTC>2.3.CO;2. ISSN 0091-7613.
  9. ^ Maher, Barbara A. (1998). "Magnetic properties of modern soils and Quaternary loessic paleosols: paleoclimatic implications". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 137 (1): 25–54. Bibcode:1998PPP...137...25M. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(97)00103-X. ISSN 0031-0182.
  10. ^ Maher, B. A.; Thompson, R.; Zhou, L. P. (1994). "Spatial and temporal reconstructions of changes in the Asian palaeomonsoon: A new mineral magnetic approach". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 125 (1): 461–471. Bibcode:1994E&PSL.125..461M. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(94)90232-1. ISSN 0012-821X.
  11. ^ Maher, Barbara A.; Thompson, Roy, eds. (1999). Quaternary Climates, Environments and Magnetism. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511535635. ISBN 9780521624176.
  12. ^ a b University, Lancaster. ""Outstanding scientist" wins medal". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Barbara Maher - Research Portal | Lancaster University". research.lancs.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Home". bridge.bris.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  15. ^ Maher, B. A.; Moore, C.; Matzka, J. (2008). "Spatial variation in vehicle-derived metal pollution identified by magnetic and elemental analysis of roadside tree leaves" (PDF). Atmospheric Environment. 42 (2): 364–373. Bibcode:2008AtmEn..42..364M. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.09.013. ISSN 1352-2310.
  16. ^ a b c d "BBC Two - Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, Series 1 - The big air pollution experiment". BBC. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Trees Trap Environmental Particulate Matter". IFLScience. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  18. ^ Maher, Barbara A.; Ahmed, Imad A. M.; Davison, Brian; Karloukovski, Vassil; Clarke, Robert (2013). "Impact of Roadside Tree Lines on Indoor Concentrations of Traffic-Derived Particulate Matter". Environmental Science & Technology. 47 (23): 13737–13744. Bibcode:2013EnST...4713737M. doi:10.1021/es404363m. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 24215538.
  19. ^ University, Lancaster. "Professor on BBC TV health programme | Lancaster University". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  20. ^ "PlantsAtWork.org.uk - Trust Me I'm a Doctor: plants clean up". plantsatwork.org.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  21. ^ Summers, Hannah (20 October 2013). "Tree of life: birch filters out deadly diesel pollution". thetimes.co.uk. The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 19 January 2019. (subscription required)
  22. ^ "Silver birches the answer to pollution?". Monmouthshire Beacon. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  23. ^ a b c Carrington, Damian (5 September 2016). "Toxic air pollution particles found in human brains". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  24. ^ University, Lancaster. "Toxic air pollution nanoparticles discovered in the human brain | Lancaster University". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  25. ^ Meera Senthilingam (6 September 2016). "Air pollution particles found inside human brains". CNN. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  26. ^ "Magnetite In the Brain Probably Comes From Air Pollution". IFLScience. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  27. ^ Skwarecki, Beth (2016). "Chemicals Linked to Health Hazards Are Common in Household Dust". scientificamerican.com. Scientific American. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  28. ^ Maher, Barbara A.; Ahmed, Imad A. M.; Karloukovski, Vassil; MacLaren, David A.; Foulds, Penelope G.; Allsop, David; Mann, David M. A.; Torres-Jardon, Ricardo; Calderon-Garciduenas, Lilian (2016). "Magnetite pollution nanoparticles in the human brain". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113 (39): 10797–10801. Bibcode:2016PNAS..11310797M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1605941113. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 5047173. PMID 27601646.
  29. ^ Knapton, Sarah (5 September 2016). "'Air pollution' particles linked to Alzheimer's found in human brain". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  30. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - BBC Inside Science, Clean Air Strategy, Fast Radio Bursts and Kuba Kingdom". BBC. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  31. ^ "Appleton medal recipients". iop.org. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  32. ^ "QRA Executive Committee 2009" (PDF). QRA. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Barbara Maher". lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  34. ^ a b "Lancaster Scientist lauded for 'exceptional contribution' to Earth sciences". www.lancaster.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  35. ^ "Professor Barbara Maher FRS". Royal Society. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
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