Ed Grant

Professor

Chemistry

Faculty of Applied Science

Research Specialization: Spectroscopic techniques; Analytical chemistry

Aim: Devise novel methods that classify and quantify microplastic loads in terrestrial, aqueous and atmospheric environments.

Challenges & Research Questions:

Representative sampling (recovery, fitness of sample for analysis)
Material identification (natural/anthropogenic, plastic/other)
Size distribution (self-consistent over length scales)
Number (high throughput automatic particle tracking, from count to density)
Classification (polymer type, morphology, source)

Research Projects

Understanding the seasonal impacts of microplastic inhalation on health

Publications

N. Mahara, J. J. Alava, M. Kowal, E. Grant, J. L. Boldt, L. E. Kwong, B. P. V., Hunt. (2022). Assessing size-based exposure to microplastic particles and ingestion pathways in zooplankton and herring in a coastal pelagic ecosystem of British Columbia, Canada. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Presentations

Matthew D. Kowal, Teresa M. Seifried, Edward R. Grant. Detection of Nanoplastics in Mixed Solutions using Interferometric Scattering Microcopy. The 16th International Conference on Near-Field Optics, Nanophotonics and Related Techniques (2022 September), Victoria.
Teresa M. Seifried, Matthew D. Kowal, Paul Bieber, Allan K. Bertram, Edward R. Grant. Do micro- and nanometre-sized plastics nucleate ice?. AMS 2023 (2023 January), Denver, CO, USA.

Microplastics, Health and the Environment

Research Excellence Clusters at UBC Vancouver is a joint initiative of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver and the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. Funding support for the clusters is provided by Academic Excellence Funds – UBC Vancouver.