• Question: Does your job help with the environment. If it does what is your favourite part that helps it

    Asked by meet532rynd94 on 24 Mar 2026.
    • Photo: Caroline Mullen

      Caroline Mullen answered on 24 Mar 2026:

      Yes I’d say it does. My job is to monitor the health of rivers, by looking at the animals and plants that live in the river we can tell if the environment is healthy or has had some pollution or other problems. That information then goes to a team who can track down what the issues are and get them fixed.

    • Photo: Daisy Pickup

      Daisy Pickup answered on 24 Mar 2026:

      I think my job indirectly helps the environment. My research contributes to our understanding of what happens to polar region under a changing climate. My favourite part is showing my research to non-scientists and helping them learn about Antarctica!

    • Photo: Kalina Dimitrova

      Kalina Dimitrova answered on 24 Mar 2026:

      Yes, it helps the environment by designing buildings that use less energy and produce less carbon. My favourite part is choosing sustainable materials and designs that make buildings more eco-friendly and efficient.

    • Photo: Michael Gillin

      Michael Gillin answered on 24 Mar 2026:

      Yes, very directly!

      Many of the coatings currently applied to steel are fossil-derived and thermally cured in large ovens. Obtaining the chemicals from fossil fuels and using the ovens requires a lot of energy and emits a lot of greenhouse gases.

      In my PhD, I am researching the chemistry of coatings and curing and developing new coating formulations that are bio-derived and UV-curable. Sourcing chemicals from renewable plant material (biomass) and curing the resulting polymers with UV radiation (just like in the nail salon!) will require much less energy and cause much less environmental damage.

      My favourite part is how chemistry is directly reducing carbon emissions while making buildings nice and strong!

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