Barbara Maher

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]

After completing her PhD, Maher was made a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Fellow at the University of Edinburgh.[5] She joined the University of East Anglia as a lecturer in 1987 and was promoted to Reader in 1998.[5] Here she investigated the magnetic properties of ultrafine sub-micron magnetites.[6][7] Using her understanding of magnetic minerals, she evaluated the climate of the 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 studies magnetic nanoparticles to track climate change and changes in human health.[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 nanoparticles in human brain tissue.[23][24][25][26] By studying the nanoparticles using an electron microscope, Maher found they were small and round, indicating that they had been formed at high temperatures.[27] As the nanoparticles have diameters that are less than 200 nm, they can enter the brain 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] She appeared on BBC Radio 4's Inside Science in 2018, discussing the Government of the United Kingdom Clean Air Strategy.[30]

• 2005 Institute of Physics (IOP) Chree medal and prize, renamed Institute of Physics Edward Appleton Medal and Prize in 2008[31]
• 2006 Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award[1]
• 2009 Vice President of the Quaternary Research Association[32]
• 2013 Lancaster University Pilkington Teaching Award[33]
• 2014 Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland Schlumberger Award[12]
• 2020 Fellowship of the American Geophysical Union https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/about-us/news/lancaster-scientist-lauded-for-exceptional-contribution-to-earth-sciences