Luke Conibear

I am studying for an interdisciplinary MSc/PhD in the Doctoral Training Centre for Bioenergy

E: pmlac@leeds.ac.uk

Background

I completed my BEng in Mechanical Engineering from UCL in 2010. My main motivations were in Energy and the Environment from Thermodynamics. For my final year project I looked into fuel analysis and the opportunity arose to take the emissions side of things further for a PhD. At the time, I decided instead to volunteer for a sustainable development charity in India and then follow a few different paths in business. Upon reflection, I knew my vocation was in Energy Research, and I jumped at the opportunity to join the Bioenergy CDT at Leeds.

Research Interests

Understanding the impacts of solid fuel combustion on ambient air quality

Nearly half of the global population rely on the combustion of solid fuels in traditional, poor-quality cookstoves for their energy needs, and this unequivocally leads to devastating human health impacts from household and ambient air pollution. This burden is overwhelmingly concentrated in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) and recent, large-scale, solid-fuel interventions (SFIs) have taken place to address this through the replacement of dirty cookstoves with cleaner alternatives. To date, there is little quantitative analyses of how these SFIs impact household air quality and none on how they have impacted ambient air quality. This research aims to be the first to quantitatively document the impact of solid fuels on ambient air quality in LMICs at the regional scale using high-resolution, numerical air quality modelling, Earth satellite observations and ground-based measurements. From this analysis, SFIs will be better understood in terms of their impacts on air quality and this information is critical to informing and designing effective future initiatives to address this health burden from solid fuel use.

Why I chose the CDT in Bioenergy

I chose the CDT in Bioenergy at Leeds for lots of reasons. It's a fantastic opportunity to learn and progress, with the chance to really shape the research I will carry out. Also, because the support and expertise is there to help my research have real-world benefits. Furthermore, Leeds is a colourful, friendly city, close to the beautiful national parks.

LinkedIn Profile: uk.linkedin.com/in/lukeconibear

Supervisors:
Dr Dominick Spracklen
Dr Steve Arnold
Dr Christoph Knote, LMU Munich, Germany