Mrs Alice Fraser-McDonald

I am currently a PhD student in the area of Environment and Waste Management within the School of Engineering and Innovation. My research is focused on investigating the potential role of trees in the exchange of greenhouse gases from closed landfill sites to the atmosphere, with a particular focus on methane. My main aim is to discover whether planting trees on closed landfill sites will help to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases from landfills on the global carbon cycle, or amplify the effect by channelling emissions from the waste directly to the atmosphere.

I previously completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Exeter in Conservation Biology and Geography where my interest in the areas of earth science and climate change developed. I then completed a master’s degree in Earth Science with the Open University which culminated in an independent research project investigating the impacts of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide on the carbon and hydrological cycles from tree-ring stable isotope archives.

I was a PhD tutor for the Brilliant Club, a charity working to increase the number of students from under-represented backgrounds progressing to highly selective universities. This involves delivering university-style tutorials based on my own research to Key Stage 4 students. I have also been a CREST Awad Assessor for the British Science Association.