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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PhD Project Template
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Use one form per project
Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012
In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically
filed
PI name &
contact
details:
Dr Marie Coggins
School:
School of Physics
Has project
been agreed
with head (or
nominee) of
proposed
registration
school?
Research
Centre /
group
affiliation:
Member of the Environment and Health and the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies (C-CAPS), research groups
within Ryan Institute NUI, Galway
Research
http://www.ryaninstitute.ie/research/
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
group /
centre
website:
PI website /
link to CV:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/physics/staff_pages/m_coggins/
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
If you are already involved in relevant scholarly activities relating to Brazil, please mention them here.
Lecturer in Occupational Hygiene, experience working in the area of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, working in research, industry and
academia. Her research interests include the assessment of environmental and occupational exposures and the completion of health based risk assessments.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Respirable crystalline silica exposures in mining
Crystalline silica is an abundant mineral in the Earths crust and present in varying amounts in almost all rocks, clays and sands. Exposure to respirable
crystalline silica (RCS) is therefore possible when these materials are worked, and can some times lead to a range of adverse health effects depending on the
magnitude of exposure. The most widely reported health effect associated with exposure to RCS is silicosis, an often life threatening lung disease. Silicosis is
widely reported in the mining industry, however there is limited data on worker exposures in this sector. The objective of this study is to characterise the
RCS exposures of workers in mining and quarrying sector, this data will be used to investigate suitable workplace human and technical interventions for this
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
sector.
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
NUI Galway projects should emphasise features that are not typically available in Brazil – specific equipment, multi-disciplinarity, aspects of structured
programme, links with industry, placements, links with other research groups etc.
PI h as exp er ien ce in exp er im en t al t ech n iq u es r eq u ir ed t o m easu r e o ccu p at io n al exp o su r es t o r esp ir ab le
cr yst allin e silica, an d h as su p er vised r esear ch w o r k w h ich in v est ig at ed RCS exp o su r es am o n g r est o r at io n
st o n e m aso n s. Th e st u d en t w ill b e t r ain ed in -h o u se. Th e PI h as d evelo p ed lin ks w it h UK an d USA b ased
scien t ist s, o n p r evio u s NUIG lead p r o ject s o n RCS exp o su r e,
St u d en t w ill b en ef it f r o m b ein g em b ed d ed w it h in r esear ch cen t r es (CCAPS- Cen t r e f o r Clim at e an d Air
Po llu t io n St u d ies an d Cen t r e o f Healt h f o r t h e En vir o n m en t ) t h at h ave lar g e r esear ch er n u m b er s an d
ext en sive r esear ch f acilit ies.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Health Science, Science, Engineering
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics,
x
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences)
Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
x
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters
Bioprospecting and Biodiversity
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ y____
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): __y___
Suitable for either/Don’t know: yes